Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind
by Mad Ant
Summary: Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past and about himself. Read and review. All comments welcome. Chapter 17 is running. (Unfinished)
1. Chapter 01 : Training at Hogwarts

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : Harry Potter Rocks, but is isn't mine. The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 01

Harry Potter had only been home a week and already he wanted to go leave. It's not that his family was nasty to him. Well, no more than the usual, anyway. 

Harry Potter was not an ordinary boy. Physically, he was quite short and skinny, with raven-black hair that couldn't be tamed, and bright, emerald-green eyes. On his forehead was a lightning-bolt shaped scar. And this was probably what was the strangest thing about Harry.

Harry was a wizard, as were both his parents. When he was one year old, a very evil dark wizard, called Voldemort, came to where Harry was living and killed his parents. He then tried to kill Harry, but the spell rebounded on Voldemort, stripping him of his body and magical powers. Harry had then gone to live with his uncle and aunt, as well as his cousin. They were muggles, people with no magical powers, and they hated with a passion everything that was even remotely to do with magic.

Because of this, Harry had spent most of his childhood sleeping in a cupboard under the stairs. But that had changed when he had recieved a letter from Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he made friends, and has had a lot of adventures. And whilst he stayed there during the school year, he was forced to return to stay with his family during the summer holidays.

So there he was, slaving away working in the garden as his aunt Petunia had told him. His fat-as-a-whale cousin, Dudley, was sitting in front of the telly watching one of his 392 favourite television programs on the new TV Vernon had bought when Dudley had thrown a temper tantrum. His uncle had gone to work, and his aunt was cooking in the kitchen. This left Harry relative peace as he worked. After having cut the grass, he was busy weeding the flowers that ran along the fence. He had already painted the fence (twice), cut the grass (once), weeded (once), and had been forced to help his aunt arrange the rocks in the garden.

He didn't really mind all that much. His cousin was no longer on that ghastly diet of his, so they were all eating normally now. Harry even managed to have proper helpings most of the time. At they left him alone in the evenings, so he managed to carry on his homework. He still managed to keep his personnel objects in his room, as the threat of Sirius coming round to hex them all still worked. He had already finished his charms essay and his transfiguration essay ('Name and describe 3 different inanimate to animate object spells'). Strangly, he was starting to find his transfiguration lessons rather easy. He wasn't rubbish in transfiguration, but he nadn't been brilliant either. Charms, also, seemed to be coming easier to him, but it wasn't as noticable as transfiguraion.

At 6 o'clock, he had finished in the garden, although his aunt would probably find many mistakes and make him undo everything he had already done. He entered the house, took a quick shower, and was washed and dried in time to eat dinner. He was ravenous, and managed to eat a relatively hearty meal before his cousin wolfed everything down.

After dinner, Harry went up to his room to carry on his homework. He was feeling guilty about what happened att the end of the third task of last years tri-wizard tournament, and had sworn to work hard and learn the most he could so that he wouldn't be as weak any longer. He was going to start his potions essay (' Give 4 different transformation potions and their uses'). He sat at his desk and prepared the parchment and ink. He was about to start reading from his potions book when he heard a light knocking at his window. Looking over, he saw a dark brown owl. Harry rushed over and opening the window, allowing the owl to enter, drop the letter on Harry's bed, and fly back out of the window. It was still relatively light outside, letting Harry watch the owl in flight for a little while before turning to the letter. Opening it, he read :

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Dear mr Potter,

I hope your return to your family was uneventful.

I know that you are looking forward to going to mr Weasleys house during the summer holidays. This will, unfortunately be impossible as you will have to return to Hogwarts. Remus and Snuffles will pass by Tuesday morning (Crikey, that's tomorrow' Harry thought)_ at 9 o' clock to pick you up and bring you here. The reason for your return will be explained at that time._

See you soon,

Yours truly,

Albus Dumbledore

(Headmaster of Hogwarts, ordre of Merlin first class, supreme mugwump)

Wow, I wonder why I have to go back already' Harry wondered. Returning to his desk, he wrote a quick note to Ron and one to Hermione, explaining where he would be spending the holidays. Hegwig was on a perch next to the desk. Harry tied the letters to her leg as she patiently waited. "Now, after you have delivered these letters, I'll meet you at Hogwarts. Okay, girl ?" Hegwig gave a small hoot in reply, before flying off into the fading light, leaving Harry to pack all his belongings …

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Harry was packed and rearing to go. He had brushed his teeth and was dressed by 8. Coming down the stairs, he was greeted, although that may be too strong a word, by the rest of his family. He was actually completely ignored, but it was better than being insulted. Dudley was, by Harry's guess, trying to break the record for having the most sausages in your mouth at the same time, while Vernon was reading the newspaper and Petunia was nibbling on a buttered piece of toast.

Harry calmly sat down and helped himself to a normal meal. Petunia didn't say anything, but glared at Harry as he ate.

Vernon eventually put his paper down and look at Harry. "Okay, boy, I've got your list of todays chores."

"I won't be able to do them uncle. I'm leaving soon."

"Oh. And _where_ are you going ? Over to one of your freak friends ?" Dudley sniggered at his fathers remark.

"No actually. A teacher is coming over to bring me back to the school."

"In trouble before school starts, eh ?"

"No. I wasn't explained why I would be going back."

"Humph. And when will they arrive, these … _people_ ?" Vernon all but spat. Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his uncles words.

"They'll be here at 9 o' clock, in half an hour."

"Well good ridance. Why can't you stay there every summer holiday."

'_Like I want to come back at all_' Harry thought. "I don't know uncle."

They didn't say much after that. Harry finished his plate and rinsed his plate before putting it in the washing machine. 9 o' clock came, when the door bell rang. Harry ran to the door and opened it to see the face of Remus Lupin, ex-Hogwarts DADA teacher.

"Good morning Harry."

"Hello professor."

"Quit with the professor, already. I'm no longer a teahcer. Remus is fine."

"Ok. Hello Snuffles."

Snuffles, which was really Sirius – Harry's godfather, convected-yet-innocent murderer and prizon escapee – gave a joyous bark.

"Erm, Remus, how will we be going back ?"

"By portkey. I know you're not fond of them, but it's the easiest way to go. We'll arrive in Hogsmead, and walk to the castle from there."

"Okay. I'll just let them know that we're off."

Harry went to tell his aunt, who just muttered a "good ridance" under her breath. Harry, Remus and Sirius all went up to Harry's room. All three placed a hand/paw on the boot/portkey, Harry holding tightly onto his belongings, while Remus muttered a small incantation. They felt the familiar tug-behind-the-navel sensation as they left Harry's room behind …

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Harry had placed his belongings in the Gryffindor commonroom for now. There was no password for the fat lady, since school term had just finished and not yet restarted. Harry had wanted to speak to Hagrid, but the gentle half-giant wasn't there, and no one could tell Harry where he had gone off to. Remus and Sirius were having a private meeting with Dumbledore, Mcgonogal, Snape, Flitwick and Charlie Weasley. Harry wondered what Charlie was doing here. Not that he was angry to see him or anything, just curious.

Instead, Harry had taken to wondering around the school. The past week of absence was one week too much, as far as Harry was concerned. He hadn't gone to the library yet, but swore he would go within the week. And since he was at Hogwarts, he surely wouldn't get into trouble if he used magic during the holidays.

At lunchtime, Harry had gone to the great Hall. It was a strange feeling, being the only person eating there. Harry was half-tempted to go sit in Dumbledores chair, but he was more comfortable being at the Gryffindor table. He had just finished lunch when Dumbledore entered, along with Mcgonogal and Charlie. They went to Harry.

"Hello Harry. I'm happy to see that you weren't too bored during the meeting. I asume you kept yourself occupied."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, you probably are wondering why you came back early, no ?"

"Yes, sir."

"The answer is simple. We are living in difficult times Harry, you even more so." Harry bowed his head as he guiltly remembered Cedric Diggory. Guilt washed over him. "Harry, you must know that what has happened, what is happening and what will happen is in no way of your doing. Voldemort (Mcgonogal and Charlie flinched) is the only person responsable. Okay ?" Brief nod. "Good. Now, the best way to react is to prepare. That is why you will be recieving a special training here at Hogwarts." Harry looked up at this, surprise written on his face. "You will, at first, be concentrating on transfiguration, charms, and magical creatures, which will be taught respectively by professors Mcgonogal, Flitwick and Charles Weasley. I will give you your schedule tomorrow morning. Any books or other equipement you will require will be provided for you."

All through Dumbledores explainations, Harry just stood there, gobsmacked. _HE_ was going to be specially trained. Why him ? Was it because of Voldemort ?

"Erm, sir, is this because of, you know, … ?"

"Voldemorts return is only part of the reason. The other part will be explained shortly. Now, I suggest you spend some time with Remus and Sirius. Tomorrow will be tiring, I'm sure. They are waiting for you in the Gryffindor commonroom."

"Yes professor." Harry ran out to meet his godfather and friend.

Watching him leave, Charlie asked, "Are you sure he should know so soon, professor ?"

"I'm sure. He should learn a bit more before he knows what will befall him. You will start by teaching him about Gryffins, before moving onto dragons. I know you would like to start with dragons, but we are slightly pushed for time."

"I understand professor."

"And Minerva, you will be teaching the theory of how to become an animagus. He has to understand the concepts, as well as what happens after the first transformation."

"Yes professor."

"Good. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some other business to attend to." With that, Dumbledore left the great hall, while Charlie and Minerva went their seperate ways.

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And so Harry's training began. Harry saw, accoring to his schedule, that the month of July would include Magical Creatures with none other than Charlie, Transfiguraion with Mcgonogal, Charms with Flitwick and DADA with Sirius and Remus. Harry was amazed that all his lessons seemed to be coming almost naturally to him now, even the more advanced curses and counter-curses from Remus and Sirius.

His favourite was Magical creatures. Not only was Charlie a great teacher, with a good sense of humour, but he also knew his subject well and would teach it in an interesting way. He had started by teaching about Griffins, explaining their physical and magical characteristics, their habitats and way of living, and many other things. Next came dragons. He taught about the main types, their abilities, as well as the properties of different dragon body parts. There was so much to learn that is was almost the end of July till they finished just 2 animals.

Transfiguration was too much theory for Harry's liking. He had had to review different transformation spells, and was learning the theory about becoming an animagus, although he was told not to attempt any kind of self transformation for now.

Charms was okay. Harry was learning more practical spells and charms, such as the conjuring charm and the like. But his favourite was DADA. Sirius and Remus worked great together as a team, almost communicating by mind-reading with each other. Harry was learnt more than a few useful dueling charms, such as the freezing charm, some fire spells, the counter curses for several painful hexes (learning the hexes at the same time) and 2 different shields. So far.

There was still 2 days to go before Harry's birthday when Dumbledore called harry up to his office. Harry went up with Sirius, Remus and Charlie and were all soon seated in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"How's your training going, Harry ?"

"Very well thanks, professor."

"Not finding it too hard, are you ?"

"Not really sir. Is there a special reason for that ?"

"There is actually. And now is the time to tell you." Dumbledore paused and stared of into space for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "You know what an animagus is, don't you Harry ?"

"Yes sir. It's a person who can change his shape to become an animal. Some more powerful wizards can also turn into a magical creature, as opposed to most who turn into non-magical."

"Good. You also know some people have involontary transformations ?"

"Yes sir, like …" with a slight glance at Remus, "like werewolves sir, who change into a large wolf every full moon."

"Very good. I see that nothing is wasted on you. Now, do you know whan a _Humanigus_ is ?"

"Er, no, sir. What is it ?"

"Every so often, a creature with magical powers can turn themselves into a human. They are extremely rare, however, and powerful. None have been recorded in over 800 years. And it's not just mythical creatures that can have this ability. Some non-mythical, but nevertheless magical, creatures, have been recorded."

Harry wasn't the only one who was amazed at what he was hearing. Sirius was also gaping, and Charlie was listening intently to whatever Dumbledore was going to say. Remus did seem surprised, but not overly so. "But, sir, what does this have to do with me ?"

"You, Harry, are the descendant of 2 Humaniguses, a griffin from your fathers side and a dragon from your mothers …"

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Authors Note : First chapter's done. Tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 02 : Buildup to a change

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

****

Disclaimer : Harry Potter Rocks, but is isn't mine. The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 02

_"Very good. I see that nothing is wasted on you. Now, do you know whan a Humanigus is ?"_

"Er, no, sir. What is it ?"

"Every so often, a creature with magical powers can turn themselves into a human. They are extremely rare, however, and powerful. None have been recorded in over 800 years. And it's not just mythical creatures that can have this ability. Some non-mythical, but nevertheless magical, creatures, have been recorded."

Harry wasn't the only one who was amazed at what he was hearing. Sirius was also gaping, and Charlie was listening intently to whatever Dumbledore was going to say. Remus did seem surprised, but not overly so. "But, sir, what does this have to do with me ?"

"You, Harry, are the descendant of 2 Humaniguses, a griffin from your fathers side and a dragon from your mothers …"

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"I … what ? I mean … How ? Wha … ?" Harry was doing a very bad job at trying to was what he wanted. Taking a deep breath, he finally manager to say : "Did you just say that I'm part-griffin, part-dragon ?"

"Yes I did Harry. It will most certainly proove to be a most powerful combination."

"How long have you known ?"

"I have known for quite some time, now. However, I did not know when these facts would manifest themselves, and I am still unaware as to what degree they will effect you."

"So why are you telling me now ?"

"Because you will soon be experiencing an extra-ordinary, an unfortunately probably painful, change."

"How, … how painful ?" Sirius asked. He had finally managed to cease gazing, and was now watching Dumbledore sternly."

"That, I do not know, unfortunately."

"But, I thought my mum was muggle-born. Wasn't she ?" Harry asked.

"Not quite. You see, dragons are very powerful, both magically and physically. They have many qualities, and are very resilient. You probably know all this from last year. Now, dragons also have their own form of magic. Now, your ancestor, a male dragon humanigus, gave birth to a male. However, this descendent had none of his fathers magical powers. And this continued through every generation. These powers were not inexistant, however. They were simply dormant."

"You mean, they were there, but not accessable. Why ?"

"I am not sure, but I think they were over-ruled by the make genetic makeup. Every following descendant was a male. However, your mother, the first female, had weaker genes, so to speak. This meant that a part of the power came to the surface."

"But, why didn't aunt Petunia have any power of any sort ?"

"Because she's only Lily's half-sister, Harry" Sirius answered. "She told us her father had died when she was one, and her mother had re-married."

Harry was slightly relieved, since this distanced his a bit from Petunia and Dudley. "But, why will it show in me ?"

"Ah, another good question. This, I believe, is due to your fathers genes. You have a griffin among your ancestors, but she was not recorded, apparently, and is younger than your mothers ancestor, around 400 years ago, I believe. Now, griffins are powerfully magical creatures. Considered second only to phoenixes, I believe. And I think that the meeting of ancient griffin magic with very ancient dragon magic will cause both to come out and be amplified."

"How come ?" Remus questionned. He had come to terms with Harry's ancestory, but wanted to know about this ancient magic.

"When 2 powerful muscles work against each other, they will both grow over time. This principle also applies to magic."

"Who ?"

"Who what, Harry ?"

"Who knows about this ?" Harry asked quietly.

"This has been kept a secret, Harry, from almost everybody. As you noticed, even Sirius and Remus here were amazed. Only myself, Mcgonagal and Charlie Weasley knew. Your 2 teachers had to know to be able to know what to teach you ?"

"But, why are you telling me now ?"

"Simply because these powers are expressing themselves more and more. You yourself said you found lessons becoming more and more easier. In 2 days time, on your birthday, you will have a form of growth spurt, as both magics will sort of … explode."

"EXPLODE ?!?!" Sirius himself exploded.

"Yes Sirius. It will not, by my calculations, be mortal, but very painful. Excrutiatingly so."

Harry just looked at Dumbledore, aghast. Both Sirius and Remus were gaping at Dumbledore as if he had anounced the end of the world.

"Now, my suspicions are that once you experience your growth spurt, you will transform into one of your ancient forms. I am not sure of this, however, but the risk is still there. This is why you have been recieving training in animagus transfiguration from Minerva, as I guess that it will be pretty much the same sensation."

"You guess ?"

"Harry, there are many things I can only guess. You must realize that this has never happened before."

"But, if I turn into a dragon, I might hurt someone."

Charlie was just walking in as Harry said these words. "Harry, dragons can be temporarily neutrailized, despite their magical resistance. It just takes several people that cast the spell at the same time." Charlie wasn't surprised at seeing Sirius, since the entire Weasley family had been told of Sirius by Dumbledore himself.

"Yes. And you, Harry, will have to choose who you wish to be present at that time. I would recommend 7 people, at the least. More would be more secure, but would also increase the risk of a traitor. The choice is yours."

"Okay, erm. The people I choose, will have to know of my … condition ?"

"They will, and will also have to be sworn to secrecy."

"Right. That's a relief, kind of. Okay, erm, you, of course, sir. Professor Mcgonagal, Arthur, Bill and Charlie Weasley (Charlie beamed at these words), … err … Remus and Sirius, of course. That makes … "

"That makes seven so far, Harry." Sirius smiled. "Only a couple more."

"Right. This isn't easy. 

"Take your time, Harry. Don't rush an answer and regret it later" Remus said kindly.

"So far, no regrets. Erm, who else ? I know. Professors Flitwick and Snape …"

"SNAPE ?!?! WHAT DO YOU WANT HIM FOR ?!?!" Sirius exploded, spraying Harry with spit.

Wiping the spit from his face, Harry simply said "He's powerful, intelligent, and Dumbledore trusts him. That's good enough for me, even if we mutually hate each other. Plus, I might be needing some potions afterwards. Pain-relieving or healing, for instance."

Sirius gaped at Harry, while Remus and Albus had small smiles and twinkles in their eyes. Charlie was trying not to laugh out loud at seeing Siriuses face.

'_That makes 9. Who else ?_' Harry thought.

"If you're looking for a tenth person, I have an idea, Harry." Remus said.

"Yeah, who ?"

"Arabella Figg."

Sirius gave Remus a sharp look. "Do you think she'll accept ?"

"Of course she will Sirius. She is the new DADA teacher, after all."

Sirius gave Dumbledore a brief glance, who confirmed what Remus had just said. Also seeing the headmasters nod, Harry nodded. "If you trust her, then so do I."

"Okay, that's all settled then. Tomorrow is the 30th, Harry. You may have the day free to do as you please. In the evening, we will be on the grounds, to make sure we are near nothing."

"Very well sir. Will that be all ?"

"Yes Harry, that is all."

"Harry, Sirius, and Remus stood and left, leaving Charlie and Dumbledore alone in the room.

"It will be hard for him professor. I never wanted to become an animagus, professor. Do you know why ?"

"You wouldn't turn into a dragon ?" Dumbledore answered questionningly, with a twinkle in his eye.

"That's only a part of it, although I never tried to learn my animagus form. But truth be told, I didn't want to experience the feeling of being trapped in your body for the first transformation. All the research I did said that after the first transformation, your mind is the same, but your animagus forms instincts take over till you get in under control. Some go mad, watching helplessly as they see themselves commit attrocities."

"That's true, though rare. Usually, precautions are taken. Plus, it takes a strong mind to be able to transform yourself, and they are usually able to quickly gain control."

Charlie breathed a great sigh. "True, but he's a 15 year old boy, Albus."

"And he has seen more than many full-frown wizards, Charlie. He might just have seen more pain in his 15 years than you will see in your whole life."

"That makes it all the more sad, Albus. Such a great burden to bare."

"Yes, it is. No, if you will excuse me, I have to warn the people concerned to prepare for tomorrow."

"I can warn dad and Bill if you want."

"Yes, thanks. It would save a little time." Charlie left the office, leaving Dumbledore time to prepare everything.

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Harry enjoyed the day he had. He slept in late the morning, only woken when Sirius started jumping on his bed yelling "WAKE UP HARRY !!!" He spent the end of the morning reading about some hexes and curses in the library. Ms Price was there, though she wasn't so strict during the holidays. Or maybe it was the fact that Harry came almost every day, and spent half an hour talking with her. She had even allowed him to take a few books from the restricted section, but only after she had made sure the books weren't too dangerus or dark.

After lunch, Harry had reviewed what he had learnt about self-transformations, asking Sirius and Remus questions. He seemed reassured by Siriuses answers, but frightful when hearing Lupins stories. He had a gut feeling that what he would experience was more like Remus had had rather than Sirius. End of afternoon, Harry, Sirius andRemus played quidditch with Arthur, Bill and Charlie Weasley, who had arrived early to be sure. After the evening dinner, everyone just spent time talking together, laughing and enjoying the company in the great hall. All save Snape and Dumbledore, who weren't there.

10 o'clock came and passed, as did 11 o'clock. At half past 11, Dumbledore and Snape entered the great hall. Everyone fell silent As one body, they got up and started to follow Dumbledore. Sirius was walking next to Harry. As they neared the entrance, Sirius put a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder and lightly squeezed. Harry looked up into Siriuses worried face and gave a small smile. Sirius smiled back, and they exited Hogwarts.

They went up to a circle of light that Dumbledore had prepared. 100 balls of light were equelly spaced in a rough circle about 40 meters in diameter. Each person Harry had choosen went to a ball and drew their wand. Dumbledore, in turn, gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze as he led him to the center of the circle, before taking his place. Now, all there was left to do was wait.

5 minutes left. Harry was nervous.

4 minutes found Harry was shifting from one foot to another, becoming more and more restless.

3 minutes. Harry could feel … something. He didn't know what, but it was there …

2 minutes to go. Harry could feel _it_ becoming stronger, more present. It was like a wild, uncontrollable power building up inside him.

1 minute and counting. Harry was still trying to repress the force in him. He had broken out into a sweat, and seemed to have blocked out exterior sounds. Sirius tried calling out to Harry, not getting any response.

30 seconds to go. '_Come on, let's get this over with._'

15 seconds. '_Please, let this be okay._'

10 seconds, … 9 … 8 … 7 … 6 … 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 …

'_Oh god, this is gonna hurt_' were Harry's last coherent thoughts before Hell broke loose.

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Authors Note : There second chapter already up. Again, review and tell me what you think.

Thanks to **Alyssa Raven, xxxcutie2stxxx and Anja** for reviewing.


	3. Chapter 03 : Changes are afoot

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

****

Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

****

Authors Notes : I would like to thank all those who have taken the time to read my story, and a special thanks to those who reviewed : **Alyssa Raven (**wish I could write like that too ;) **), xxxcutie2stxxx, Anja, Matt, Aria (**MWA HA HA, of course I'm evil ;) **), (Anonymous), Elspethelf, ER (**the answers here, rad on ;) **), moom music, fireboltrcr, Brion, Phoenix of Light, Rachel A. Prongs, nikkimouse, Lu and silverlime.**

Special thanks amonst the reviews for Lu. Heck, I even printed out the review. It brings up a lot of points. Some of them were already planned, some I hadn't thought of (I had thought of him visiting dragons in Romania, bad hadn't thought about the Egyptian griffins, shame on me). All the ideas that weren't mine, if included, will be mentionned in the disclaimer. Thanks again.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 03

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5 minutes left. Harry was nervous.

4 minutes found Harry was shifting from one foot to another, becoming more and more restless.

3 minutes. Harry could feel … something. He didn't know what, but it was there …

2 minutes to go. Harry could feel it becoming stronger, more present. It was like a wild, uncontrollable power building up inside him.

1 minute and counting. Harry was still trying to repress the force in him. He had broken out into a sweat, and seemed to have blocked out exterior sounds. Sirius tried calling out to Harry, not getting any response.

30 seconds to go. 'Come on, let's get this over with.'

15 seconds. 'Please, let this be okay.'

10 seconds, … 9 … 8 … 7 … 6 … 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 …

'Oh god, this is gonna hurt' were Harry's last coherent thoughts before Hell broke loose.

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Harry was in pain. Just 4 words, yet it would have won the 'Understatement of the Year' prize in an instant.

Harry was radiating a red and gold light so fierce, that it forced those present to look away or cover their eyes. Most choose to look away, so that they could cover their ears to block out harrys screams. They were … unearthly. It sounded like a mixture of roaring and screaming in pain. Harry was doubled over in pain, sweating profousely, rolling about on the floor. Sirius desperately wanted to go and help, but he couldn't break the circle.

Harry couldn't think. Any thought he started to form was quashed by the pain. It was worse that the Cruciatus curse, and that was saying something. He could feel some of his veins and arteries bursting. He could feel the blood trickling slowly down his arms, back, and legs. He could taste his stomach acids in the back of his throat. But he couldn't do anything. Moving hurt. Staying still hurt. Breathing hurt. Hell, even thinking hurt. Pure, undiluter, pain. Then, he felt himself change.

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Everyone watched. The light had receded, and they could all look at Harry relatively clearly. He was bleeding, and the blood could be seen dripping down his skinny members, staining the grass. Even Snape appeared disturbed. Sirius was frantic. Dumbledore was grim, and Arthur Weasley was on the point of having a heart attack. Everyone else was deathly pale, as they could but look on.

Then, they saw mouvement. It wasn't a volontary mouvement, such as getting up or moving an arm. It was change. He was changing shape. To what, only god knew …

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Harry had been doubled up on his knees. He slowly grew in size. The screams were less human, becoming more of a roaring sound. His legs and arms slowly started to become roughly the same length. A large mana of hair started to appear, and eagle-like wings slowly grew from his back. His face took on more feline features. Finally, all humanity left the screams, to be replaced by a continual roar.

Then, suddenly, everything was silent. Harry was no longer in the circle. In his place stood a large golden-coloured griffin. It was about 3 meters in length, and stood over a meter at shoulder height. It's wingspan was about 4 metres, from tip to tip. A large mud-red mane stretched down his back, and his tail swished dangerously from one side to the other. A slight golded/red aura was being irradiated by the griffin. It was a breathtaking sight. Beautiful, but deadly. The griffin started to move.

"H … Harry ?" Sirius whispered. The griffin turned to face Sirius, who had moved slightly forward, and all colour left his face. The griffins emerald-green eyes were looking his way, and no flicker of recognition had crossed its face.

'_Uh, oh_' was what crossed Siriuses mind as the griffin moved. '_No, that's no ordinary griffin. That's Harry, Harry Potter, my godson_' Sirius thought furiously. "Harry ? Harry, it's me, Sirius."

"Get back, man, he'll rip you to shreds" Snape hissed, but Sirius didn't pas any attention. He was entirely focused on Harry.

Harry had stopped moving. Tilting it's head to one side, it just stood there, looking at Sirius. A low rumbling could be heard coming from its throat, but no one could tell if that was a good sign or not. Harry roared Loudly. Sirius had to cover his ears, as did all those present. The rumbling was back, but it wasn't in any way reassuring.

Harry lunged at Sirius, who only just had the time to move out of the way. Bill Weasley threw a stunning spell and missed, but Sirius held up his hand in Bills direction. With his wings folded, it looked just like a very large and powerful lion, as the colour of the wings blended very well with the colour of his fur. With very long and razor-sharp claws. '_This in going to be fun_' Sirius thought sarcastically to himself. Harry lunged again, and Sirius escaped. His robes, however, got caught, and were partly ripped under the attack. '_Not good, he's getting used to his form_'. Sirius transformed. In his place stood a large, black, shaggy-haired dog. The griffin looked at the dog questioningly, and continued prowling, circling the dog. Rearing back it's head and letting a blood-curdling roar, Harry charged once again. Sirius ran, hoping that experience and agility would save him. No luck there.

He had barely had time to turn around when Harry charged into him brutally. Painfully. Sirius was thrown a good 5 meters before landing, skidding a further 5 meters. Arabella Figg threw a stunning charm which reached Harry, but reflected off the aura he was radiating. Shakily getting up, he changed back to human form. He managed to get on his feet before falling onto one knee. His left arm was probably broken, judging by the angle it was in. And there were a few scratch marks on his face from his bad landing. Not forgeting the dirt and mud on him. In that shape, another charge and he was finished.

He did what any brave Gryffindor would do : he turned and faced the griffin, who was watching him.

"Harry, I know that you can hear me." The rumbling was back. "Harry, please, take control." It got louder. "Harry, I now you can do this. Please ?" Harry charged. Sirius closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. He heard someone scream …

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

No pain. Well, nothing new. He could feel a hot breath on his face. Warm. Was he in hell ? Sirius opened his eyes, and, giving a small cry, fell over backwards.

Harry had stopped mere inches from Sirius. He was looking at Sirius, who was now sprawled on his backside. Harry slowly walked over and started to lick his face. Everyone was looking in shock, and Dumbledore had a smile on his mouth and a twinkle in his eye. Harry took the back of Sirius tattered robes in his mouth and dragged him over to Snape, who looked disgustingly at Sirius. Harry walked back to the center of the circle and sat down. After a minute, it started again …

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Harry was now surrounded by a red, black and green swirling light. It looked like snakes or reptiles writhering all over the place. He had reared up on his hind legs, making him tower over all present. The roar of pain could be clearly heard, although there was a screaching sound in it.

Chills ran over Charlies back. He knew that sound well. It was the sound of a dragon in pain. He turned to his brother, who was to his immediate left. Casting a Sonorus charm, he yelled "HE'S GOING TO TURN INTO A DRAGON !!!"

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME ?!?!" his brother answered back. Seeing the faces of the people close by, they were hoping the exact same thing.

"AFRAID NOT !!! THAT'S A SOUND I KNOW TOO WELL !!! I WON'T KNOW WHICH RACE TILL I SEE IT !!!" Charlie yelled back, barely making himself heard over Harrys roar/screech of pain. Then, the transformation occured.

The griffins hair was dissappearing, leaving a scaly skin underneath. The front paws turned into long dragons claws, and the rear legs became powerful dragns legs. The tail, too, transformed, with spikes appearing at its tip. The wings lost their feathers and grew considerable in size, looking like stretched leather. His neck lengthened and the head became more and more reptile like. Finally, the roar was lost completely, being replaced by a screech of pure, undiluted pain. He light surrounding Harry wasn't as intense as for his first transformation, but was just as spectacular. It seemed to be alive, and was writhing just like a pit of snakes. Then, silence once again.

Before them stood a 20 meter long Hungarain Horntail. Its black and green skin almost shone under the light. Its green eyes gleemed with unnatural shine. The claws tooked razor-sharp. Its winds, stretched at first, were now folded across his back. One look, and all quavered. Rearing back its head, it let forth a 30 meter burst of flame. '_If Harry doesn't control that, we're in trouble …_' Charlie thought.

Harry was looking around, eyes seeming to take in every detail. His head was making snake-like mouvements. He still had to move his body yet. He did just so. Clumsily lifting a rear leg, he teetered, and hastily put it back down. He spread his winds for better balance, and tried again, this time with more success.

Charlie was looking intently. Any sign that Harry was not in control, and he would have to give the order to knock him out. He hoped he didn't have to do that. Since this was Harry, he didn't know what side effects this would have. Hell, he didn't even know if they could knock him out.

Harry was at present slowly turning around, warily. Taking a few seconds to look at each person present standing next to a ball of light. He seemed to take longer for some people. He spent nearly a minute gazing at Dumbledore. He also spent a couple of minutes looking as Sirius, who was sitting down at Snapes feet. Sirius gave a small wave with his good arm, and Harry continued his tour. He only really stopped whan his gaze came across Charlie. Their eyes locked, and Charlie found himself staring into the dragons bright green eyes.

Then, the light returned. The dragon was surrounded by a light made up of gold, red, green and black. It wasn't whirling like for the griffin transformation, not writhering, like for the dragon transformation. It was … fire-like. It was as if Harry was on fire. But there was no scream of pain. The dragon reared, and let loose another ball of flame that shot over 60 meters into the sky, way more than what was normally possble. Still in a reared position, the dragon started to shrink. The neck became shorter, and the scales slowly turned to skin. Dragon limbs transformed back to human arms and legs, and the head was turning back too. 5 minutes later, Harry stood before them once again.

He was taller, almost 2 meters tall (about 6'6"), and his frame was mush more muscular. His shoulders were broad, and his arms, torso and legs threatened to burst out of his clothes and second now. Not that there was much to burst out of, since his clothes were little more than tatters hanging from his frame. His hair was no longer short, black, and messy. His hair now grew almost like a mane, stretching back down a part of his back. It was black with a greenish tinge, and blond streaks in it. He still had his glasses and scar, although the scar seemed to have faded slightly.

Harry looked around. When his gaze fell upon Dumbledore, he gave a small smile. "Hello professor" he said, his deep voice barely above a whisper. Then, he did the next logical thing to do : he fainted …

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Harry opened his eyes. Slowly. They felt like they were weighed down with lead. As did the rest of his body, for that matter. He finally managed to open his eyes, one after the other.

Light was streaming through the windows. He seemed to be in the Hospital Wing, when madame Pomfrey opened the curtains.

"Ah, mr Potter. Good to see you're finally awake. I had trouble recognizing you when they brought you in."

"Hello" Harry managed to croak. Pomfrey left and came back with a glass of water. Tilting it to Harry's lips, he took a few sips gratefully. "Thanks. How long have I been here ?"

"You've been sleeping for three days straight. You had good company the first day, as your godfather had to be brought in here."

"What was he here for ?"

"Don't you remember, Harry ?"

Harry lay his head down and thought. Then, he remembered. He was assailed with memories of what had happened. The pain, the transformations, the feeling of being unable to act, watching while you do things you don't want to, attacking Sirius, more pain, then becoming human once again. He looked over at Pomfrey, and gave a small nod. "How is he ?"

"He's fine, dear. Just a broken arm and a few scratches. Nothing to worry about. He's been patched up." Harry released a sigh of relief at hearing this. "Would you like to see him ?"

"Could I go and see him ?"

"Not yet, Harry. Your body is still tired. You spent a lot of energy that day, magical and physical. You will still need a few days rest before you can leave the hospital."

"Okay." Pomfrey left to fetch Sirius and the headmaster, leaving Harry a few minutes to gather his thoughts. He was tired, unnaturally so. Which was pretty normal, he supposed, after what he had been through. Yet, he could feel magic. It seemed to be radiating off him. He could feel the strength that came off him. Lifting his head, he saw that his body covered a larger area than before. '_How … ?_' He never got to ask himself the question as Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus and Charlie entered and came next to his bed.

"Hello Harry. Good to see you're finally awake." Dumbledore said, the twinkle in his eye ever present.

"It's good to be back sir." Turning back to Sirius : "Sorry about your arm."

"Don't mention it. The first time I transformed completely, I broke a few desks and chairs in one of the unused classrooms." Sirius grinned. "And look at what Remus does when he transforms."

Remembering all the broken furniture in the shrieking shack, he nodded.

"So how are you feeling Harry ?"

"I'm okay, I guess. I just feel so tired. And … well, different."

"No kidding." Sirius shot back with a grin.

"Are you hiding something from me ?"

The grin left his face. "You mean, you don't remember ?"

"I remember turning into a griffin, chasing you, then turning into a dragon. What kind of dragon am I, by the way ?"

"You're a Hungarian Horntail. Or, more precisely, an ancestor of. An ancient dragon. They're very like those of the present, but much stronger physically speaking, and at least as powerful magically." Charlie said.

Nodding, Hary continued : "Then I turned back into a human, and after that, nothing."

Dumbledore gave a small nod. "Well Harry, you didn't just change into a griffin and a dragon. You are also much more powerful magically. I guess you can feel that yourself …" Harry nodded, "… but you also changed physically. We can conjure up a mirror, if you want." Another nod. Remus removed Harrys bedsheet, while Sirius conjured up a mirror, making if float above Harry so he could see himself.

Harry gasped. How he had changed. His body, his hair. His face was pretty much the same. Then he noticed. He wasn't wearing glasses, yet he could see crystal clearly. Much better, actually, compared to when he was wearing glasses. And his eyes now looked like a cross between human and cats eyes. He gave a toothy grin, and saw that his teeth had changed, too, and seemed to have the same misture that his eyes did. Remus replaced the bedsheets, and Sirius banished the mirror.

"Wow." Harry said.

"You can say that again." Sirius remarked with a grin. "We had to enlargen the bed just for you."

"Wow." Harry repeated, an insane grin on his face. "I can just imagine Rons and Hermiones face when they see me." He frowned. "Erm, professor Dumbledore, what will I say when people ask how come I've changed."

"Harry, I believe you can tell the truth to your closest friends. You wouldn't be able to hide the truth from them for long anyway. As for the others, I think you could claim a magical growth spurt affecting your physical appearance." Harry pondered over this.

"I suppose. I can't think of anything else, at any rate."

"Good. Now, you will be taking a sleeping potion, and I will try to convince madame Pomfrey to release you once you wake up. But only if you drink it all, mind."

"Yes sir." Harry said, grinning as Dumbledore left to find the resident nurse.

"Hey kiddo. I know it's a little late, but Happy birthday."

"Thanks Sirius." Harry answered with a smile.

"We'll be holding a late birthday party for you when you're up and about, where you will officially recieve your presents."

Dumbledore returned with a goblet filled with a smoking purple liquid that smelled of bitter apples gone mouldy. "Drink this up Harry. In one go, to get it over with." Harry sat up slightly, while Sirius gave Harry the potion. It tasted pretty much as it smelled, and the last thing Harry heard was Sirius saying "Sleep well, Harry …"


	4. Chapter 04 : The Aftermath

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Thanks to all those who reviewed : **Sky, angelangie, leo, Blizzard (**see further, but for your information, I don't see Harry/Ginny ships as I consider her too young at the moment, and Hermione just goes with Ron for me, although I'll never say anything if someone else sees otherwise**), Elspethelf, Matt, Mystic Gohan, Videl86, Lu (**see next paragraph**), anon and Nikkimouse.**

Lu : Blimy, I've never had such a long review. Thanks a lot. I've decided to answer some of the points you raised, so here goes. It is no way an evolution, since humans, dragons and griffins are just too different to be related I cannot see it other than a drastic change to his DNA structure, although if someone else has a decent idea, review. For the evolution fans out there, you could say that different creatures evolved in drastically diffent ways, humans, dragons and griffins just being 3 of the extremes that are still around. I don't think that there could be a clan of Humanigi, since they are very rare, although if 2 co-existed, they could regognize each other. The MOMs reaction will be dealt with, later. Don't worry if you think you ramble, you raise some interesting points, and I can't think of everythink.

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Blizzard asked if there was going to be any romance in this story. As I've said before, I haven't really thought about it. This is where you come in, dear reviewers. If you want some romance, all you have to do is mention it in your review (which you were going to write anyway ;) ). If you want to have it with a special character, or an original character, just say so and I'll decide, depending on the arguments you put forth.

This chapter is just the aftermath of Harrys awakening, with peoples reactions to it. Plot, not action.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 04

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Dumbledore returned with a goblet filled with a smoking purple liquid that smelled of bitter apples gone mouldy. "Drink this up Harry. In one go, to get it over with." Harry sat up slightly, while Sirius gave Harry the potion. It tasted pretty much as it smelled, and the last thing Harry heard was Sirius saying "Sleep well, Harry …"

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Dumbledore, Remus and Sirius were walking from the hospital wing to Dumbledores office. They had just given Harry a dreamless sleeping potion, and he was fast asleep. All three of them were silent, deep in thought. It was Sirius who broke the silence.

"He's changed so much."

"That's normal, Sirius. The manifestation of his powers could actually have been much worse. In the worst of cases, the physical shock could have caused his body to overload, killing him outright, or making him go mad."

"I know, professor. But, well, look at him. He used to be short for his age, as well as rather thin, and now, he basically towers over everyone, even yourself. That will take some getting used to. I just can't help feeling sorry for him. All he wants is to be a normal, 15 year-old wizard like any other. And on top of that, he'll have to get used to magic again."

"I'm not so sure about that, Padfoot." Remus interrupted. "I mean, I don't know how griffins or dragons do magic, but it can't be worse than what he does now."

Sirius gave a sigh. They were silent for a few minutes more. Sirius once again broke the silence.

"What else do you think has changed ?"

"In what way, Sirius ?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, there's so many things we don't know, and so many more we will never guess. He's no longer human, not really. Will he eat differently ? Will he think differently ? And his eyes. And that's just the start. Will his personnality change ?"

"As you said Sirius, there's too many things we won't know until we stumble upon then. But I wouldn't worry. Harry is a strong boy, much stronger than most wizards will ever be. That is why he is so special. He will always be himself, no matter what happens."

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Charlie had arrived home. Fred, George, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were at the small paddock the Weasleys owned, practicing quidditch. Athur, Molly and Bill were in the kitchen when Charlie stepped out of the fireplace, covered in soot.

"Hello Charlie. How's Harry ?"

Brushing the soot off of himself, Charlie looked at his father. "He's okay. Just woken up, so he's pretty tired. They gave him a sleeping potion so thay he would recuperate quicker." Finally brushing the final speck of soot off, he sat down at the table.

"I was just thinking about him. You now, how he changed." Bill said.

"It was rather shocking. But I'm glad he changed into a dragon." Charlie quipped with a smile.

"You would."

"How else has he changed ?" Molly asked, a worried look on his face.

"Well, let's just say you don't have to worry about him being skinny anymore."

"What do you mean ?"

"Well, … how can I put this ?" Charlie mused. "Let's just say they had to lengthen and re-enforce the hospital bed to prevent Harry from crushing it."

"But why ? Why did he change ? How else has he changed ?"

Arthur cut of his almost frantic wife. "We can but guess. He probably changed due to his ancestors powers, his body having to change so as not to overload. As to what else has changed, your guess is as good as anybodies."

"Guess for what ?" Ron asked, entering the kitchen with his broom slung carelessly over his shoulder. He was closely followed by Hermione and the rest of the Weasley clan.

A quick look at Charlie, who gave a small nod, was all that was needed. They could now tell Ron and Hermione what they had arranged with Dumbledore. It was Bill who started.

"Well you know that Harry has been at Hogwarts these holidays ?"

"Yeah," Ron answered, putting his broom next to his brothers near the back door. "We owled each other. He said he was having extra lessons in charms, transfiguration to become an animagus, care of magical creatures and defence against the dark arts. He never explained to us why just those lessons, although DADA and transfiguration are obvious enough."

"Yes. Becoming an animagus would be good, what with you-know-who coming back." Hermione added, looking slightly envious at the extra training Harry was recieving.

"The thing is, Harry isn't going to become an animagus."

"Huh ? But why's he getting the training for then ?" Ron asked, with a very confused expression on his face.

Charlie took over. "For the simple reason that Harry doesn't have too. He isn't … human."

"Oh, and Malfoy is just a misunderstood kid in need of love ! Of course Harry's human !" Ron exclaimed.

"No he isn't. Harry has, among his ancestors, a griffin and a dragon."

They looked at Charlie, gobsmacked, eyes wide open, barely breathing.

"You all know what animagi are, don't you ?" No one managed to say anything, so they just meekly nodded. "Well, some magical creatures can do the opposite and turn into humans. Harry, on his fathers side, has a griffin, and a dragon on his mothers side."

"But that's not possible." Hermione said, managing to get her voice back. "Harry's mother was a muggle-born witch."

"According to Dumbledore, the magical powers were dormant. They awoke with his mother, though."

"And when did he find out ?" Ginny asked.

"A few days before his birthday. His … changes … came about on his birthday. He was out cold since."

"Well, that explains a few things." Ron commented. "When can we go and see him ?"

"That's up to Dumbledore, although Harry will surely want to see you as soon as possible" Arthur said with a smile.

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As it was, Harry was deemed well enough to leave the next day, although madame Pomfrey had had an extra-long check-up done, and had sermoned him not to push himself for the next couple of days. He had slowly made his way back the the Gryffindor tower, talking and laughing with Sirius and Remus on the way. Charlie had gone to spend the night with his family, and hadn't returned yet. Harry was wearing some wizards robes and other clothes Remus had had to get from Diagon alley during the time Harry was alseep. They had had to guess Harrys' measurements, but they had done a good job of it.

Along the way, Harry was beginning to notice differences about the way he saw or did things. Almost banging his head on the doorway leaving the hospital wing was just the beginning. He kept forgetting that he was so much bigger, and had to get used to looking down to see Remus or Sirius. His mouvements, too, were different. Despite being hindered through fatigue, they were much more … gracious, almost cat-like in his way of moving.

All his senses were also heightened. His sight was much sharper, and he could see further, as well as in areas of less light. His smell was much sharper, as was his touch. His hearing had improved, too. He had been warned not to try any magic yet, so he didn't know how he had been affected by this, magically speaking.

Upon reaching his house common roon, he entered as soon as the fat lady had opened, banging his head quite painfully on the arch. That brought the 2 marauders laughing.

"So, Harry, what do you feel up to today ?"

"Nothing much, Sirius. I'm still tired, although I feel better just being out of the hospital wing. I should buy shares in it or something."

"We might have to go back for your head." This bought Sirius a glare from Harry, but he carried on regardless. "We've still got an hour or so before lunch. How about something not too tiring. Homework ?"

"Ugh. What did you do to Sirius, you imposter ?" Harry grinned. "I hear you were quite good when you were at school. If you like, you could look over what I've done, see if there's anything to correct, add, or remove."

"Sure. I'll go get them." Sirius ran up to where Harry's trunk was, leaving Harry alone with Remus.

"Now, Harry, I wanted to tell you something. I think Sirius would have a fit, so I'm telling you first. Dumbledore would like you to try a volontary transformation once you feel up to it. Also, you will have to test your magic as soon as you can, see how much has changed. And although you dislike the hospital wing, you will have to have an internal check-up."

"Whatever for ?" Harry asked.

"Harry, you are no longer totally human. You never really were, with your ancestors being what they were, but this has only made itself manifest recently. We have to know how much you have changed."

"That sounds logical, I suppose. I don't feel any differently. Not inside, anyhow." Harry said, still relunctant to have regular visits to the hospital wing.

"True, Harry, but you have changed. You don't need glasses anymore, for a start. And your eyes look like they are akin to those of cats and dragons eyes. To help you, we have to know how to help you." Remus' soothing way of talking, not too much unlike Dumbledores, was helping Harry see reason. "On a lighter note, Charlie was hoping to organize a meeting with the some dragons he works with, once you manage a volontary transformation into a dragon."

"Really ? Wow, that would be brilliant. Could I visit the griffins, too ?"

"That should be possible. Bill Weasley does work in Eygpt, after all. When are you planning on telling the rest of the Weasley family ?"

"I dunno."

"You don't know what ?" Sirius asked, coming down the stairs, several parchments in his arms.

"I don't know when I'll tell Ron and the others about my changes."

"You'll find the time when it comes, don't worry," Sirius said. "Dumbledore already agreed to give a small summary to the rest of the Weasley family and to Hermione. But the rest, that's up to you."

"Good. Did you bring down any spare parchment. I'd like to write them letters, just telling them I'm OK."

"Sure, here you go. Before you write, you should open your presents. They'd like to know what you thought of them."

"Where are they ?" Harry asked eagerly. In truth, he had completely forgotten about them. Sirius pointed to a corner of the common room, where a pile of presents was waiting. Harry went over and brought the presents close to where Remus and Sirius were seated, in front of the fire. Sirius had started to look over the parchments, and Remus looked like he wanted Harry to open his presents as soon as possible.

Harry set about the task at hand. Sirius would look up and smile at Harry every time he heard an "ooh" or an "aaah". In the end, he had a large pile of presents in front of him : Ron had given him a book on Quidditch, Hermione a book on curses and counter-curses, Fred and George a box full of new and slightly dangerous pranks, mrs Weasley had sent Harry a large chocolate cake ("My favourite" Sirius had exclained), and Ginny had written a shy 'happy birthday' note with a small scrapbook full of photos of Harry playing quidditch. Charlie had given him a gold necklace with a 2-inch long dragons tooth hanging from it. Charlie had written a little note, saying the tooth was that of a young Hungarian Horntail. Sirius and Remus had pitched in to buy a magnificent wizards cloak. It was a dark green velvet-type of material, with gold clasps, and several magically enlarged inside pockets. It was enchanted to always be the ideal size for its owner, and Harry thanked them both. So much so, they had to tell his to stop thanking them.

Much to Harrys surprise, there were also presents from people in different houses and years. As it was, he had several small gifts from all the houses, except for Slytherin, years 4 and up, with the odd third year also having sent a gift. Generally candy, or some amusing enchanted object. The odd book, whether school related or no. Harry wondered why, since he didn't really have much to do with the other houses outside lessons. He asked Remus.

"Well, I know you don't like to be reminded of this, but Albus sent a letter explaining what happened after the tri-wizard tournament to each parent. I would say this is their way of giving you some sort of encouragement.

"Oh," Harry said with a sad smile. "That's nice of them."

Sirius had finished going through Harrys' essays, and didn't have anything negative to say. Harry brightened up afterwards, and challenged Sirius to a game of wizards chess, and lost hopelessly. Same with Remus. He then watched Remus and Sirius play, which Remus won, although not by much. They spent the rest of the day just talking, playing, and enjoying each others company.

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2 more days had passed since Harry had left the hospital wing. Pomfrey had insisted he go down every day so that she could give him a quick check up, with nothing bad happening so far. Harry had gotten used to his newfound height, and didn't bang into door frames so often now. He didn't have any trouble moving anymore, and didn't feel weak at all. Quite the contrary. He was feeling good, and thought of going for a short flight with his firebolt. He told Sirius as such.

"I don't see why not. Although, you might be too big for seeker now."

Harry frowned at this. He liked quidditch, and enjoyed the position he played. "Maybe, we'll just have to see. You coming ?"

Sirius followed Harry to the pitch and went to get one of the school brooms. Harry waited for his godfather to come back before attempting a take off. Putting his leg over his broom, he kicked off. He must have kicked off too hard, as he found himself speeding upwards and had to quickly react before he got too high too soon. Sirius had followed, albeit slower.

"A bit eager, aren't we ?" Sirius said with a grin.

"Surpirsed me, too. Maybe the new me won't have too much trouble flying." Harry said, hope in his voice. He set off. He quickly sped across the pitch, Sirius having no chance to catch up. Not only was Harry flying a firebolt, the best broom money could buy for now, he was also a natural flyer, and the youngest student to be on the house quidditch team. But now, it seemed just so much more, how could he put it ? He seemed at home in the air, as if he belonged there more now. He stopped, just content to hover in the middle of the pitch, letting the air flow around him and the suns rays warm his face.

"Crikey, Harry. I knew you were good, but that was brilliant." Sirius exclaimed, finally pulling up along Harry.

"I guess we don't have to worry about my position on the team," Harry replied with a grin.

"No kidding." Sirius sat silently in thought for a minute. "Maybe it's because both your ancestors were flying creatures."

"I suppose." Harry muttered. They spent another hour just flying around before heading back to the castle.

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The next day, Harry was meeting Dumbledore in the empty charms classroom after breakfast.

"Hello Harry. How are you today ?"

"I'm well, thanks professor."

"Good. You have your wand with you ?" Harry took it out of hes robe pocket. "Good. Now, a little explaining is in order. You have changed, and we are not sure how this will affect you. I can only make suppositions, and since both your ancestors are powerfully magical, I would say that it hasn't hampered you any. I would even say that you are now more powerful than before. But to know for sure, you will have to be tested. Today, we will be reviewing different charms, from first to forth year, followed by transfiguration. Do you feel up to it ?"

Harry nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good."

Dumbledore rigorously tested Harry over the course of the morning (expression???) in charms and hexes. He didn't have any problems whatsoever. Quite the contrary, much to the amusement and pleasure of Dumbledore, judging by the twinkle in his eye. After a large lunch in the great hall, they continued with transfiguration. Whilst Harry had been pretty good before, he was downright brilliant now.

"Amazing Harry. You are doing brilliantly well. You were second in your class before, just behind miss Granger, but now, I think you're past N.E.W.T. level."

This made Harry start thinking about his friends. "Sir, when could I tell them about this ?"

"Well, I would say after you've managed to make voluntary transformations. They could come to visit, as they've continuallyasked me to do since they heard you were here, and you could show them at that time."

"Could we try now, professor."

"No, Harry. You've been exerting yourself today, magically speaking, and I think it would be better for you to rest before attempting as daunting a task as this. Tomorrow, you may."

"Thanks you professor."

With that, Harry left to find Sirius and Remus, who were somewhere on the school grounds …

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	5. Chapter 05 : Transformations and Explain...

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. Like I said, the events that take place in the following chapters happen close to each other, so quite a few chapters will be necessary to cover his school holidays, but things should speed up from there.

I would like to thanks all those who took the time to review : **shdurrani, della lune (**yes, he will tell them soon ; they are his best friends, afetr all …**), (Anonymous), ~Mary~ (**I like his hair too …**), Alyssa Raven (**I recommend a basic healing potion, or a skin-growing potion, Pomfrey is sure to have some somewhere …**), Blizzard (**No, Harry isn't as tall as Hagrid. Since Hagrid is half-giant, and full giants are some 20 feet – 6 metres – tall, I'd say Harry is between 10 and 12 feet – 3 and 4 metres – tall. So Hagrids, still bigger and broader, but not by so much. As for romance, I was thinking alone the same lines as you, that is, casual romance, but don't forget that if Harry had his inheritance come out, it's because his body was now of age for all three creatures. The question is : is me mentally prepared ?**), schulyr, Elspethelf (**A remonce with an OC is a good idea, and there are many more possibilites. Plus, there is a better possibility they are older, and since Harry is more mature than most …**), Matt (**Dracos reaction will come soon …**), griffin (**thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks**), Lady Phoenix Gryffindor, Myrddin Ambrosius and Lone wolf (**I think Draco would lack bulk to knock Harry off his broom, he's more likely to bouce off. The romance idea with Fudges daughter is VERRRY interesting, although if he had a daughter, he would be more present in the school and act more against Dumbledore, so whilst the idea still stands, I would see his daughter as a recently graduated student. Good idea …**).** Thanks, not only for your encouraging remarks, but also for the different ideas you guys and gals dish out.

As always, all comments, flames (dragon, of course), words of encouragement, and anything else, are welcome. I'm glad too see many people are enjoying the story, which is basically the reason why I wrote it in the first place. (Actually, I wrote this in the hope you would send me a blank cheque, but don't tell anyone …)

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 05

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"Amazing Harry. You are doing brilliantly well. You were second in your class before, just behind miss Granger, but now, I think you're past N.E.W.T. level."

This made Harry start thinking about his friends. "Sir, when could I tell them about this ?"

"Well, I would say after you've managed to make voluntary transformations. They could come to visit, as they've continuallyasked me to do since they heard you were here, and you could show them at that time."

"Could we try now, professor."

"No, Harry. You've been exerting yourself today, magically speaking, and I think it would be better for you to rest before attempting as daunting a task as this. Tomorrow, you may."

"Thanks you professor."

With that, Harry left to find Sirius and Remus, who were somewhere on the school grounds …

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Harry had gone to bed extra early to be sure he got enough sleep. It was true that he was tired, all he had done all day was one spell after another. He had just gotten used to his newfound power, and was still having trouble dosing it out.

As it was, Harry awoke around eight o' clock, refreshed from a good nights sleep. Sirius, who wanted to be close to Harry, was sleeping on one of the other beds in the room. He was still asleep, but awoke when Harry got up and started to dress.

"You wanted to leave without me ?" Sirius managed to coherently mumble while slowly getting up.

"No, I wanted to make sure you got enough sleep." Harry replied, sticking his arm through his sleeve. He would have to go to Diagon alley sone, he only had one set of robes, no dress robes, and still had to get the rest of his school supplies. He finished getting dressed, and waited for Sirius to wake up enough to get properly dressed. It took longer than expected, because Sirius was putting his robe on back-to-front while having his right hand covered with his sock, but they were finally on their way to breakfast, Harry whistling away and Sirius following. They managed to have basic conversation, which was Harry asking a question and Sirius giving monosylabic answers.

Upon arriving at the great hall, they saw they weren't alone. Dumbledore was already seated, with Minreva Mcgonagall seated next to him, as were Bill and Charlie Weasley.

"Good morning all" Harry cheerfully called out, while Sirius mumbles something that sounded vaguely like "For some it is." They seated themselves at the head table, and Harry piled food onto his plate before eating. Remus arrived some 10 minutes later and joined them. Conversation was quite lively as soon as Sirius was awake enough to hold one, and the rest of the meal passed pleasently. Once they were all finished, Dumbledore spoke to Harry.

"Harry, are you ready to attempt a voluntary transformation ?"

After a brief consideration, he answered "I think I am professor. I suppose it will have to be done outside."

"Yes, it is preferable." The whole table stood, and they all left the great hall and went to the place Harry had undergone his inital transformations. "Now, you will have to choose which creature you will first turn into.

Harry gave this a little thought. "A griffin." Seeing the slight dissapointment on Charlies face, he explained, "A griffin is less likely to cause large-scale damage, which a dragon could easily do. Plus, it's smaller."

"Okay Harry. We will take out positions, and you will attempt to transform. Since you have already transformed once, it should come relatively naturally. Just remember what you learned from Minerva, and everything should be okay."

Harry went to the center of the circle formed by his friends and teachers. Closing his eyes, he pictured a griffin is his minds eye, seeing what it looks like, its markings, the way the mane moved in the breeze, the wings folded carefully on its back, the way the muscles rippled underneath the fur. He could almost smell how it would, and saw the deep green colour of its eyes. Keeping this picture in mind, he pictured himself beside it, his new self. He managed to keep this picture of himself standing next to the griffin. Now came the hard part. He had to imagine the mental picture of himself melding with the griffin. Brow furrowed in concentration, he started.

He could feel the changes as they took place. He felt bones pop, move and restructure. He felt his muscles adpt to his new shape. He could feel the wings start to form from his back. He felt the fur start to form, and his hair become the mane. It wasn't painful in any way, and Harry was thankful for that.

Finally, he stopped changing. Opening his eyes, he saw Dumbledore. The twinkle was in his eye, and Harry briefly wondered if it sometimes shone in the dark. Minerva was the next he looked at, and he could see pride in her eyes. '_I must have managed then_' Harry thought. Continuing the circle, he saw pride and awe on the faces of all present.

"Harry, I suppose you would like to look at yourself," Dumbledore said once Harry had completed his circle. Harry gave what he hoped would be interpreted as a nod, and Dumbledore summoned a full-length mirror. Harry moved, rather clumsily, forward to look at himself. He wasn't used to having 4 paws, and almost ended up nose in the mud. '_It will come in time, I suppose_', Harry mused. He briefly wondered what Sirius was like when he first started, imagining a big, hulking black dog wandering around drunkenly, and tried to laugh. It came out as a throaty rumble, and Mcgonagall gave a small jump at the sound.

When Harry arrived at the mirror, he was awestruck. Looking back at him was a proud, majestic griffin, just as he had imagined himself to be. Turning around to contemplate himself better, he saw his wings folded neatly on his back, and stretched them out. Judging from the way he was looking at people, he guessed he stood about one-and-a-half metres (about 5 foot) to the shoulder, and about 3-and-a-half metres (a bit under 9 foot) in length. His fur was pale gold in colour, as were his wings. His eyes were green. A deep, emerald green. Harry was ecstatic, and eager to show Ron and Hermione this.

"Okay Harry, it might be a good idea to get used to this form. So I suggest you take a small run, say, from here to Hagrids hut and back."

"Let yourself go, kid. Give us a roar !" Sirius said. He had come to stand next to Dumbledore while Harry was busy admiring himself extensively.

Harry wondered how to give a roar. He opened his mouth and blew. Sirius started laughing, as it was obvious Harry was trying to roar, and failing miserably. Harry looked at Sirius, who managed to gain control.

"Okay, Harry, I'll give you some advice. When I have to bark as a dog, I just talk. Volume and emotions show just as easily in dog form as in human form. You managed a rumble just a minute ago. Think about _how_ you did it. Have a go."

Harry tried again. He tried to say "Like this", but it came out as a small roar. He jumped slightly at hearing himself roar. This set Sirius off again. Harry tried whispering, getting an even smaller roar. Harry next tried humming and growling, as was greeted by two different growls, one obviously happy ('_if a growl can be happy_' Harry thought), sounding more like a purr, and one menacing. He next went for a small run. Starting of slowly, he soon got the hang of it, and started to go faster. Sirius had changed to a dogs form and was running next to him, although he had a hard time keeping level with Harry. 

Once Harry arrived at Hagrids, he turned to Sirius, who was sittng next to him, and nuzzled him away. Sirius got the message, and went back to Dumbledore, where he changed back to look at Harry. Harry lifted his head, and roared. If he would have been in human form, it would have been more of a scream, but in griffins form, he let loose a mighty roar. One of the windows in Hagrids hut cracked and shttered, and Mcgonagall had to cover her ears to block out the sound. Harry understood why the lion is called 'King of the Jungle'. Finishing his roar, he ran back to Dumbledore, he managed to run quickly, and soon covered the distance. Sirius would have had no chance in keeping up. He tried flexing his claws, and was happy to see that it came naturally.

"Okay Harry, I think it's time to change back."

Harry nodded, and closed his eyes. Seeing his griffin form, he imagined his human self seperating himself, becoming 2 seperate forms once again.

The same sensations could be felt in his bones, muscles and organs. His wings shrunk back, and his fur receded.

"Enjoyed yourself Harry ?" Sirius asked once Harry was back to human form, a huge grin plastered on his face. Harry smiled back.

"Awesome !" he agreed.

"Glad you enjoyed yourself Harry. Are you up to trying your other form ?" Dumbledore asked. One glance at Charlies eager face …

"Yes sir, I am." He couldn't tell who was the most exited : himself or Charlie. Moving back to the center of the circle, the others took their places once again.

"Now Harry, I must council you not to try flame breating or flight yet. You might hurt yourself.

With a brief nod, Harry closed his eyes and repeated the procedure. Imagining a big, powerful, magestic dragon, he then imagined himself next to it, trying to keep the sizes accurate. He then imagined the merger.

The sensations were basically the same, the bones changing, the muscles and internal organs moving, wings sprouting. His skin felt different, howerer. Taunt, almost tight, yet thicker. All this at the same time. When the change stopped, he opened his eyes.

He was a dragon. Dumbledore had left the mirror, and Harry advanced his head. It filled the whole mirror. Dumbledore noticed this and enlarged the mirror. A lot. Harry, moving slowly, could see his whole body. He stretched his wings and boy did it feel good. He tried to say something. Needless to say, it came out as a screech, almost identical to that of the Hungarian Horntail he had faced during the tri-wizard tournament. Trying different words and emotions, he came across a whole range of dragon screeches and calls. He tried louder and softer, but didn't dare try a full-out scream. He tried moving, and found that it was quite similar to that of a griffin, only more … lizard-like. He would have liked to breath fire or try to fly, but remembered Dumbledores warning. Besides, he could try that another day. He decided that it was enough for today, and returned back to human form.

"Well done Harry." Dumbledore said, and Sirius was beaming with pride. Everyone else was also smiling. Harry being the center of things didn't like the attention, and a small voice at the back of his head said "Why can't I be a normal 15 year old ?" However, seeing all the smiling faces he couldn't help but smile. It was Sirius who broke the scene. "Now Harry, there are several things you must know. First, each of these forms are your natural forms. You are part griffin, part dragon, part human. Obviously, your human genes are dominant, but, as you may have noticed, you are comfortable in all three forms. Another thing is this : generally, transformations are accompanied by a small popping sound …" Sirius demonstrated, becoming a dog with a small pop, and returning to human form with the same '_pop_' sound, "… but you transform with no sound. It could be useful later on," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. "Now, let's go get lunch." Harry hadn't realized that time had gone by so fast. The small crowd made its way back to the great hall, Harry chatting with Sirius and Remus about how he felt, and Charlie ranting on to Bill about how Harry could help him study some grey areas concerning dragons …

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Harry spent a part of the afternoon training himself so that he could turn from human to griffin and back again as quickly as possible. Since all three forms were natural, he could soon do so almost instantaneously. He and Sirius had some trial runs, and Harry had even tried flying in both forms, but still avoided any fire breathing. He had managed to lift off, maintain himself, and glide down. His landing left to be desired, however, as he had crashed, landing face first into the ground. Each time. Sirius had laughed at this, so Harry had chased him around. At around 4 o'clock, they went too see Dumbledore.

"Ah, Harry. How did your flying lessons go ?"

He had not left his office the whole afternoon, so Haryy wondered how he knew. "It went okay, sir. Although I have to work on my landings." This sent Sirius into a fit of giggles, making Harry go slightly red around the ears.

"Quite. Well, since you have recuperated from your change, we will continue your training. You will continue with charms, transfiguration, and defence. However, you will also recieve physical training, weapons training, and potions."

"Who will my teachers be ?" Harry asked, hoping fervently that Snape wouldn't be giving him potions.

"You will be keeping the same teachers for transfiguraion, charms and defence. Bill and Charlie Weasley will be giving physical and weapons training, and Sirius here will be teaching potions." Harry gave a surprised look at Sirius, who just smiled back. "You may have often heard that he was one of the schools most brilliant students, and that is true. (Sirius' ears went slightly pink at this.) He was especially good in potions, almost as good as our present potions master." Sirius was positively beaming at this point. "So you will be in very capable hands. Speaking of which reminds me. Harry, with your consent, we would like to conduct some research concerning your blood."

"Erm, why ?"

"Well, you must remember that I was one of those involved in the research into the twelve used of dragon blood. I would like to know how much this transpires in your blood."

Harry gave this some thought. "I suppose it would be okay."

"Good, would you so kind as to donate a small vial straight away ?"

Harry drew up the sleeve of his left arm, and held it over the vial Dumbledore had placed on his desk. Dumbledore proceded to perform a painless slit charm, but … nothing happened. Dumbledore frowned. "How strange …" he muttered to himself, performing the charm once again. This time, a small red line appeared, but nothing else. "Well, that's something."

"What is, sir ?"

"Well, it would seme that you have inherited the dragons resistance to spells." Harry started to gape at Dumbledore who, before either Harry or Sirius could move, calmly pointed his wand at Harry and said "Stupefy !" The spell hit Harry in the chest, since he wasn't expecting it. However, he wasn't effected. Not completely. Instead of being rendered unconscious, he was simply … woozy, dizzy, and tired. "Indeed, interesting … Enervate !" Harry was completely awake once again.

"Oh well, that'll be useful …" Harry said.

"Indeed it will. Never mind, I will take your blood another time, soon. But further experiments had better be taken, for our knowledge and your protection." Harry gave a slow nod. "Now, Harry there is another matter of importance that I wish to discuss with you. Please sit down." Harry sat down opposite Dumbledore, and Sirius sat down next to Harry. "You asked me, at the end of your first year, why Voldemort wanted to kill you and your father, and not your mother." Harry nodded. That question, the one that he had often asked himself, was finally going to be answered. "You see, Humanigi are powerfully magic once they attain maturity, which is what you experienced. Yours was more powerful and visible than most, since you decend from 2 humanigi. Your father had his, privately, when just I was present, which explains why Sirius and Remus weren't aware of this. He didn't gain as much power either, as he was quite powerful to start with. Now, when 2 humanigi are close enough to each other, they can sense that the other person is also a humanigus."

"Erm, professor, sorry to interrupt, but how do you know. You said they were rare."

"And they are, Harry. I have a theory, that the powers are more present in some than in others. And that when 2 people, whose powers are strong enough, they can sense something different about the other."

"But what does this have to do with Voldemort."

"Voldemort is a desendant of a snake humanigus through Salazar Slytherin."

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	6. Chapter 06 : Explainations, Lessons and ...

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. 

First of all, I have had to change the ages of Harrys decendants, for the simple reasons of life spans. Being magical creatures, there's a chance that his ancestors are still alive, so I made them older. Sorry if it causes any inconvenience.

I would also like to explin the reasons why I took a relatively long time to update : as I'm in my last year, teachers have given us a lot of work that has to be handed in before the 20th of December. This takes up a lot of my time, leaving me little spare time. I regularly go to bed at 2 in the morning at get up at hafl past seven. Ugh. Thankfully, after my exams (10 Jan to 6 Feb), I should have a lot more spare time on my hands, as I'll be doing an internship at a nearby society.

Moving along, I would like to thanks all those who took the time to review :** Bagder Lord, Blizzard (**see the explaination in the story …**), (**iammesoletmebe@aol.com**) (**answers in the story, …**), della luna, fou-lu, john (**thanks, that was what I was hoping for J **), illustrious sorrow, Mike Potter, Corrie (**twice ;) **), inspired (**Harry's dad wasn't a humanigus, just as Harry isn't. They are both descendants of. Harrys dad is always mentionned as being raher powerful. And Harry transformed due to his descending from 2 humanigi, the reaction giving him more powers. As for the forms, that's explained later …**), androme (**haw about 'NOW !", that sound good enough for you ?**), angelangie, unknown (even to me, and john (**again J **).**

As always, all comments, flames (they'll be useful, winter is nearly upon us), words of encouragement, and anything else, are welcome. I'm glad too see many people are enjoying the story, which is basically the reason why I wrote it in the first place. (I re-read my stuff sometimes to check for mistakes, and one sentance struck me. I started to laugh. Then I realized that it was my fanfiction, and I had forgotten that I had written it.)

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 06

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"Harry there is another matter of importance that I wish to discuss with you. Please sit down." Harry sat down opposite Dumbledore, and Sirius sat down next to Harry. "You asked me, at the end of your first year, why Voldemort wanted to kill you and your father, and not your mother." Harry nodded. That question, the one that he had often asked himself, was finally going to be answered. "You see, Humanigi are powerfully magic once they attain maturity, which is what you experienced. Yours was more powerful and visible than most, since you decend from 2 humanigi. Your father had his, privately, when just I was present, which explains why Sirius and Remus weren't aware of this. He didn't gain as much power either, as he was quite powerful to start with. Now, when 2 humanigi are close enough to each other, they can sense that the other person is also a humanigus."

"Erm, professor, sorry to interrupt, but how do you know. You said they were rare."

"And they are, Harry. I have a theory, that the powers are more present in some than in others. And that when 2 people, whose powers are strong enough, are close to each other, they can sense something different about the other."

"But what does this have to do with Voldemort."

"Voldemort is a desendant of a snake humanigus through Salazar Slytherin."

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Harry looked at Dumbledore, mouth catching flies, whereas Sirius had a shocked as well as scared look on his face.

"Professor, you mean that the only reason Voldemort wants to kill me is because of my griffin ancestor ? And can he transform like I can ?"

"No Harry. Voldemort cannot transform into his ancestors form, just as your father couldn't turn into a griffin. I will tell you the whole story. Concerning Voldemort, he descends from Salazar Slytherin, who was himself the descendant of a Inficsius Snake humanigus. This species of snake is very large, and contains a deadly poison. This is why Salazar himself had the ability to speak to snakes. Now, concerning your griffin descendant, he also had a heir of note : Godric Gryffindor." Harry gasped. "Yes Harry, you are the heir of your house founder. That is why fawkes brought you the sorting hat when you were in the chamber of secrets : to bring you the sword of Godric Gryffindor. It's also why the qualities he found of importance were nobility and bravery."

"So Voldemort wants to kill me because of my being the descendant of a humanigus and of Godric Gryffindor from my father. Couldn't he detect the fact my mother was also a humanigus' descendant ?"

"I'm not sure. You see, snakes and dragons are closer, species wise, than many people care to think. He could have not been able to discover and still consider her to be muggle-born, or could have noticed but not cared due to the closeness."

"So, why does he want to kill me, specifically ?"

"Humanigus are, in human form, very powerful magically, as are their descendants who, I might add, can't normally transform as you can. Voldemort is an example of that, and you will prove to be no exception. You are special due to your ability to transform. Plus the fact that you are a descendant to Godric Gryffindor. However, as far as I can tell, your mothers ancestors, while not magically powerful, were very well built physically."

"But I haven't been able to do much so far. If I was so powerful, I would have been able to save Cedric." Harry hung his head as he said this. "I … I could have done something … anything …" Sirius put his hand on Harrys shoulder and gave a small squeeze.

"Harry, from what you told me happened, you were incapacitated with pain. You did all you can, and I am sure no one but yourself holds this against you. As to your power, I believe it was still dormant at the time. As you surely remember, they only awoke a few days ago." Harry nodded. "And during your testing, you prooved to be remarquable powerful." Another nod. "Now, I believe it is dinner-time." Dumbledore got up and left his office, leaving Harry alone with Sirius.

"Harry, are you okay ?"

Harry gave a small sigh. "Yeah. I still feel guilty about Cedric every now and then."

"Harry, I would be worried if you didn't. It just shows how much you care about those around you, how caring a person you are. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that your parents would be proud of you. Just as I am."

Harry looked up, and saw Sirius looking at him intently. Giving his godfather a small smile, he said "Thanks. I needed that."

"I know. So did I. Now, let's go get some dinner …"

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Harry woke up at 8 to a sunny Wednesday morning. Harry was still thinking about yesterday : his transformations, his attempts at flying, the advantages he had in human form, and the reason Voldemrt tried to kill him. He also thought about Cedic for a brief moment, and decided to write a brief note to Cho. Getting up quietly so as not to wake Sirius up, he got dressed and got a quill, ink and a few pieces of parchment from his trunk. Heading down to the common room, he took a place before a desk and got to work.

About 5 minutes and 10 pieces of parchment later, he was no closer to finishing his letter. He was about to get started on a eleventh attempt when he heard someone calling his name. "Harry ? Where are you ?"

"I'm down here, Sirius."

His godfather stuck his head over the banister, still half asleep. "Are you alright down there ?"

"I'm fine. Are you planning to sleep there all day ?"

"Nope. I'll be down in a second." His head dissappeared, and he could be heard coming down the stairs a few minutes later. "Whatcha doing ?" Sirius asked, attempting to rub the last few slivers of fatigue from his eyes.

"Trying to write a letter to Cho Chang, Cedric Diggorys girlfriend from last year," Harry answered with a sigh.

"And judging from the amount of failed attempts, I'd say you're no closer to sending the letter." Harry nodded. "Okay, I'll give you some advice. Be yourself, and say what happened." Harry gave Sirius a disbelieving look. "Harry, I promise you, it will be enough. If she knows you at least a little bit, she'll understand and be thankful."

Harry gave another sigh. "I guess you're right."

"No, I'm Sirius." He grinned. "I'll go down to have breakfast. Don't take too long." With that, Sirius got up and left, leaving Harry to his dilema and a blank piece of parchment.

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Harry arrived at the great hall half an hour later. Sirius had finished eating, as had all the others present. That wasn't really saying much, however, since only Dumbledore and Mcgonagall were there. Harry went to a free seat and loaded his plate with several different foodstuffs present. He had soon finished, despite Sirius telling him several times he would choke from eating so quickly.

"So, sent the letter ?" Sirius questionned once Harry had finished.

"Yep. I did what you said. It's funny, I felt better once I finished it."

"I thought you would. You felt better saying it after it happened, and writing it down is similar, but more organized and editable. That's why so many people like diaries."

Harry gave this a little thought. '_Maybe I should get myself one_' he thought. '_Although not one that looks like Riddles old diary._' That made him think of his friends. "Erm, professor Dumbledore ?" Dumbledore looked at Harry. "When could I go and see Ron and Hermione ?"

Dumbledore gave Harry a small smile. "Well Harry today is Wednesday. How about Sunday, which is the day after the full moon. I imagine you'll be wanting to keep Remus company that night."

"Okay sir. Thank you. I'll go write now."

"You'll also be pleased to know you may stay the next couple of nights there, if you wish, since mr Charlie Weasley has aranged for you to go visit the dragons on Thursday."

"Really, wow ! Thank you sir." He said, getting up and running out of the hall.

"Hey Harry, don't forget your potions lessons" Sirius called behind Harry's retreating form, getting a small wave for an answer as Harry exited the hall …

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The rest of the week passed quickly, Harry noticing that time flew by in expectation of seeing the Weasley family and Hermione. He was starting to really get advanced in his lessons, especially transfiguration, charms and DADA. Mcgonagall, usually so stern, was almost heaping praises upon Harry's head, and Flitwick squeaked in delight so often Harry wondered how much helium he had been breathing. Remus was getting a bit more nervous as the full moon drew closer, but Harry was exited at spending the night with Remus and Sirius, living what his father must have lived before.

Sirius, as Harry was discovering, was brilliant at potions and at teaching. He was fun, cracked jokes during the lesson, and helped Harry get through. He wasn't breaking records, but Harry was starting to understand how the potion-making process worked, and got better with each lessons. He had also brewing the wolfsbane potion, so that Remus would have it easier the night of the full moon.

He was also having physical and combat training with Bill and Charlie. He physical part was easy. He followed the exercices they told him so that he would keep in good shape, although he had ne idea if it was really necessary. Combat training was more fun. He was getting through easily, starting with a staff and moving of to the basics of battle axes, warhammers, broadswords and 2 handed swords (which Harry could hold with one hand for some moves). He also had hand-to-hand combat, and had started by learning to control his strength. By accident, in a moment of frustration, he had made 3-inch claws come out of his hand, so he also spent a little time trying to fight with claws out after managing to get them out at will. Still, he had had only a few lessons during the week, so he only had a very basic grasp of the weapons he had used.

Saturday came. The day passed in relative calm, since Harry didn't have lessons. Remus had taken his last dose of wolfsbane potion. Night came, and Remus, Sirius and Harry went down. They entered the forbidden forest, which was unusually calm. They reached a small clearing, led by the light of their wands. Upon arriving, Sirius turned into the big, hulking black dog, whereas Harry assumed his griffin form. Then, they waited.

A few minutes later, a beam of white moonlight entered the clearing. Remus let off a growl as his transformation commenced. Dark brown fur grew over his whole body, his face lengthened to take a wolfs form, and his arms and legs took on the shape of a wolves members. The popping of bones could be heard, but the pain was dulled from the wolfsbane potion. Soon, the clearing was empty, and all that could be heard was the running of 3 creatures, and their contented calls in the night …

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They had returned at around 6 in the morning, tired. That was probably due to the fact they had spent the whole night running through the forest. They hadn't met many other creatures, not that that bothered Harry. He was just happy to have been with his fathers 2 best friends when they had been to Hogwarts. They had managed to drag themselves to the Gryffindor common rooms, and slept till 10.

Well, Harry did anyway. Whan he opened his eyes, Sirius was still in his robes, sprawled out across the bed in a very undignified manner. Remus had been brought to the Hospital wing for a check-up, and probably some patching up. Harry chuckled to himself. Looking at the time, he saw he was leaving for the Weasleys in 2 hours, and wanted to use his time wisely.

After dressing and having gotten a late breakfast from the kitchens, which required escaping from Dobby, he went see Dumbledore. There was a question that was at the back of his mind, and he wanted to know. Upon arriving at the stone gargoyle, he was about to try and guess the password when it opened. Harry entered and climbed the stairs. When he arrived before the great door, he knocked.

"Come in."

Harry entered the room. Dumbledore was alone, sitting behind his paper-covered desk. "Good morning Harry. I suppose you had a good time last night."

"Yes sir. I came to ask you a question."

"By all means. Lemon drop ?"

"No thank you. I wanted to know : if my father descended from a griffin, why was him animagus form a stag ?"

"Harry, a animagus shape is determined by the qualities you show. Your fathers animagus form reflected his qualities. And remember, you can only transform already because of descending from 2 different humanigi."

"Do I have an animagus form sir ?"

"I can't be 100 percent sure, Harry. But you should have at least one."

"What do you mean, 'at least' ?"

"I mean you could have 3 different forms, one for each of your descendants."

'_This is going to get complicated_' Harry thought. "Is there a way of knowing ?"

"There are several means of knowing. The most commonly used are a spell or a potion. I won't do the spell yet, since I'm sure your godfather will want to know what form you will take."

"Yes sir."

"Now, since you will be out of Hogwarts for the next few days, I will be sending Sirius and Remus on a short mission for me. Don't worry, nothing they can't handle. I also suggest you get your school supplies while staying at the Weasleys house. Here's the list for the coming year (handing Harry a letter). Like I already told you, you will be visiting the dragons on Thursday. And William Weasley had just sent me a letter telling me you can visit the griffins on next Sunday." Harry gave a small whoop of joy, and Dumbledore had a twinkle in his eye. "Plus, I managed to get the authorization for you, the Weasleys and miss Granger to practice magic outside of school without Fudge knowing. This should help you if need be. Now, Harry, do you think we could try again to get a sample of your blood."

Harry nodded, and rolled up his sleeve once again, holding it over the vial Dumbledore had placed on his desk. Instead of taking his wand, however, he took up a crystal-tipped rod. "Erm, professor, what's that ?"

"Ah, good question. You see, Harry, wand cores are used to help wizards to focus their power in spell casting. Wandless magic is possible, but usually only when the wizard is in a highly emotionnal state, such as anger. Some wizard are able to wandlessly perform magic, but the efforts required by most discourage almost all from ever trying to learn. Now, a few hundred years ago, a wizard found that some stones could be used as a focus. But not all stones are good at it, and not at the same spells. One stone could be good in fire based spells, whereas another is a very good focus for healing spells." Harry nodded, never having thought of that before. "Now, this stone is a vert potent attack stone. Thankfully, it is also very rare and hard to get. It will help me to perform the slitting charm. Ready ?" Harry nodded his head, and Dumbledore pointed the rod at Harrys arm. Muttering an incantation, a slit appeared on Harry's arm, letting his blood seem slowly from his arm into the vial. After collecting a small amount, Dumbledore lifted the rod, and the cut healed instantaneously.

"There you go. Now, one last point to discuss before you leave," Dumbledore said as he put the vial away, Harry putting his sleeve back in place. "A week before the rest of the students return, a new student from Canada will be arriving. She was unfortunately denied proper magical training due to circumstances beyond her control. She had managed to learn some magic, however, so will be placed according to her training. But there is a big chance she will be held back only a year, placing her in the fifth year. She has yet to be sorted, but I think she would probably be placed in Gryffindor. I count on you to welcome her, especially since you are a prefect this year."

"Okay, sir, I'll … _WHAT_ ? I'm a _PREFECT_ ?" Harry yelled. Dumbledore nodded. "But, I've broken so many rules. I'll have no time left. Couldn't anyone else take my place ?"

"Only if you refuse it. I know a certain red-headed friend of yours would like it."

Harry smiled, imagining Rons face. "Could I be the one to tell him, sir ?"

"You may."

"Who's the other fifth-year prefect ?"

"I can't tell you, since you're no longer a prefect." Dumbledore answered. Seeing Harry gape, he chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm sure miss Granger will be perfect as a prefect."

Harry grinned. "I'm sure she'll be fine. I'll still keep a look out on the new student, prefect or no."

"Thank you. You had better go to pack and say your farewells, Charlie Weasley will be here shortly to pick you up." With that, Harry nodded and left the office …

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Ready Harry ?" Sirius asked. Harry mentally went through all the things he had packed. Dumbledore had lent him a smaller second trunk, so that he didn't have to lug all his stuff around with him. Checking to be sure he had his wand, some books and clothing (the little he had), his broom and invisibility cloak, he was sure he had everything.

"Yep, Everything's ready." Harry answered Sirius and Harry exited and went to Dumbledores office, where Charlie would meet Harry to bring him to the burrow.

"Nervous ?"

"A bit. I mean, how will they take this ?"

"Well, Charlie gave them a brief summary of what happened. The rest is up to you."

They arrived at the statue of the gargoyle and gave the password (Blood pops). It moved by, allowing them to enter and get up to Dumbledores office.

"Ah, Harry, just on time. Have you said goodbye to everyone ?"

"Yes sir. I think professor Mcgonagall was about to cry," he said with a smile.

Just then, the fire blazed green, and out stepped a soot-smeared Charlie Weasley.

"Hello all," he said, not bothering to remove the soot.

"Ah, you've arrived. Ready to take Harry ?"

"Yep, I'll go ahead with his stuff." Charlie said, grabbing Harry's trunk, going over to the fire, throwing in some powder and yelling "the Burrow". He dissappeared with a pop as the fire blazed green before returning to normal.

Harry turned to Sirius "Take care," He said, grabbing his godfather and hugging him.

"You too kid." Sirius said, as he hugged Harry back. "Be carefull, and don't kill anyone."

"I'll try. I'll be back in a week, so I'll see you then."

"Yep."

Harry walked over to the fireplace, threw in some floo powder and yelled "The Burrow", leaving behind Dumbledores office and spinning away …

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Arthur, Molly, Ron and Ginny Weasley were in the kitchen, along with Hermione who was spending the summer with them. Fred and George were in their room, working on some new prank, Percy was at the ministry, having been promoted to head of his department, and Bill had returned to Eygpt for the moment. Charlie had just departed to get Harry from Hogwarts, and they were discussing about it.

"How different do you think he'll be ?" Ron asked.

"Charlie and Bill said that he had changed a lot physically, but not at all mentally. So it should be the Harry we know."

"At least he isn't staying at those ghastly Dursleys this summer," Molly said. "At Hogwarts, I'm sure he'll eat properly."

The fire blazed green, and Charlie came out clutching a relatively small trunk.

"Already back ?" Ron asked.

"Yup, little bro. Harry was waiting. He should be along in a sec." Charlie deposited the trunk in a corner of the room and exited the kitchen through the back door to get rid of the soot. The fire blazed green once again, and Harry stepped out … almost. He banged his head on a jutting brick, loosing the brick and a lot of soot which clouded the kitchen and making all present jump at the sound. Harry finally managed to extract himself, rubbing his head and mumbling what sounded like "forgot about that." When he stood upright, Molly, Ron, Hermione and Ginny gasped. Harry looked around, and saw all the soot he had delogged from the chimmeny.

"Erm, sorry about that." Harry said, looking sheepish.

"Don't worry about it …" Molly said, before Ron interrupted.

"Hell Harry, you've changed." Ron said, still gaping. Hermione and Ginny were also looking wide-eyed at Harry. Charlie choose this moment to re-enter the kitchen.

"Ah Harry. No trouble ?"

"Erm, except almost knocking the chimmney down, none at all. I'll clear myself off in the garden." Harry said, leaving the room to shake himself free from soot. Hermione and Ginny continued to gape at the fireplace where Harry had been, and only regained their senses whan Molly spoke.

"Arthur dear, you'll have to enlarge the bed in Rons room."

"Right away," he said, as he left the room. You could hear his steps head up the room, and 2 pairs of feet coming down. Moments later, Fred and George rushed in.

"What was it …" Fred started.

"…That caused …" George continued.

"…All that noise ?" they finished together, making Hermione smile. Trust them to make her smile.

"Harry made quite an entrance, nearly cracking his head open when he exited the fireplace."

"I did no such thing." Harry exclaimed, entering the kitchen. Molly cleared the soot with a wave of her wand, and Fred and George looked at Harry.

"Blimey. Is that you Harry ?" Fred exclaimed.

"No, it's the queen of England. Of course it's me, can't you recognize me ?" Harry quipped with a grin, knowing full well almost no-one would recognize him.

"Course we did old chap, just testing," George answered.

"Wanted to see if you knew who you were," Fred added.

"Erm, Harry ? How come you're so different ?" Ron asked. Hermione smacked him on the arm, muttering "indelicate prat" under breath.

"Well, how much do you know ?" Harry asked, not wishing to tell them too much yet.

"Well, we know that you've got a griffin and a dragon among your ancestors, and that it became apparent a few days ago. Nothing more." Ron answered.

"Okay." Harry sat down. The chair creaked dangerously, and Harry jumped up before it broke. Taking his wand, he cast a quick enforcement charm, and sat down again.

"Harry, you can't use magic during the summer holidays. You might get expelled." Hermione shrieked.

"Dumbledore got me permission, although I'm not sure if I'll need it. You all have it too, … " Harry said, "… but I'd advise on still being careful." He added, seeing earges anf Freds faces. "I'll start at the beginning. Like Ron said, 2 of my ancestors weren't human. As far as I know, I'm their last descendant, for both of them. Now, I came of age on my fifteenth birthday, meaning that I had some sort of magical growth spurt. This …" showing his body "is the physical manifestation. I have a few advantages, such as heightened senses, and I think I'm more powerful magically."

"Blimey Harry, this is brilliant. Kind of …"

"What do you mean, 'kind of' ?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Well, the Daily Prophet will have a field day when they hear about it …" he said, not sounding convinced at his own words. Harry choose to ignore it.

"Well, we'll have to be carefull so that no unauthorized ears hear about it. I mean, it's not like I wanted this."

"Yeah." Ron said. Harry relaxed, hearing Rons voice return to normal. "Hey, aren't you too big for your broom now ?"

"No. That's a funny thing, I seem to go faster, now. Sirius reckons it's because both ancestors are flying creatures."

"What else has changed, Harry ?" Hermione asked, ever the curious one.

"Erm, I'm stronger, magically. And I can transform …"

"Into what ?" Ron butted in.

Harry gave him a sly smile. "Would you like to see ?"

"No, I'd rather play guinnea pig to Freg and George." Seeing the twins start to advance, he quickly added "Of course I want to see," before rushing out of the kitchen. Everyone laughed and stood to go to the back garden, even Bill and Charlie who had already seen him transform. Harry went to stand in the middle of the garden while the Weasley family and Hermione stood near the house. There were a few garded gnomes who were standing near the hedge, giggling madly. Ron was carefull to have at least 2 other members of his family between him and the twins, who were watching Harry with rapt attention.

"Ready ?" Hary asked. They all nodded. Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. A second later, where Harry had stood, was a magnificent griffin. Everyone gasped, and the gnomes squeeled and ran off as fast as they could. Harry prowled slowly forward. Looking at Fred and George, he gave a small growl, making them jump.

"Blimey Harry, that's brilliant !" Fred exclaimed. George nodded vigorously in agreement. Molly looked shocked, while the Ron, Hermione and Ginny just … gaped. Harry changed back and smiled.

"Whadya think ?" he asked, an inane grin on his face. "I can manage flying, mut haven't managed to land properly once yet. Seeing that Charlie had a longing look in his eyes, he gave a small shake of his head, mouthing 'not yet'. Charlie gave a small nod in understanding.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny still hadn't moved. Harry was waving his hand in front of their eyes and snapping his fingers in hope of a response, but to no avail. Finally, Ginny broke the spell.

Giving a high-pitched scream, she bolted for the house. "Blimey, what was that for ?" Fred asked, taking his hands off his ears after Ginnys scream.

"I'd say she was slightly shocked. We stil have Ron and Hermione to recover." Ron chose this moment to act.

"Wow, fantastic …" he managed to murmur before fainting. Hermione was just after him.

"I'll have to look that up in a book …" before fainting herself.

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Authors Notes :

Just a point on wandless magic. For me, every wizard is capable of doing wandless magic, even just a little bit. However, most have such a hard time that they don't bother pushing it any further. A bit like becoming a animagus : everyone is capable, but most don't bother because it takes too much effort for them.

Concerning underage magic : when someone casts spells, they leave some sort of magical signature in the spell. This signature is different concerning underage wizards, allowing misuse of spellcasting to be detected. Everyone has a unique signature, but it is possible to hide or change your signature, but only powerful wizards are able to do so.

I would also like to apologize. I know the 'Harry-being-Gryffindors-heir' thing is so cliché, but it fitten in with the story. Since a griffins wings aren't all that visible, they can be mistaken for lions when the wings are folded. Plus, they represent close enough the qualities that are important in Gryffindor house.


	7. Chapter 07 : A Day With the Weasleys

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. 

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read it. There are also those who take the additionnal time to leave a review. Thanks to them :** angelangie (**I was thinking about his animagus form, and found a phoenix too cliché, so I still have to give it some thought. Of course Ron squeeked, his voice is breaking. Ron and Hermione will probably end up being paired together, but I still haven't decided for Harry. Since he's already with Cho in my other fic, and he's been put with Ginny so often alreasy, I might put him with an original character. I still haven't decided for sure yet.**), jammie, Phoenix of Light, john, Corrie, Spirit2289, unknown(even to me, (blank) and athenakitty (**How about I update … NOW ? ;) **).**

As always, all comments, flames (they'll be useful, winter is nearly upon us), words of encouragement, and anything else, are welcome. I'm glad too see many people are enjoying the story, which is basically the reason why I wrote it in the first place.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 06

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"Ready ?" Hary asked. They all nodded. Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. A second later, where Harry had stood, was a magnificent griffin. Everyone gasped, and the gnomes squeeled and ran off as fast as they could. Harry prowled slowly forward. Looking at Fred and George, he gave a small growl, making them jump.

"Blimey Harry, that's brilliant !" Fred exclaimed. George nodded vigorously in agreement. Molly looked shocked, while the Ron, Hermione and Ginny just … gaped. Harry changed back and smiled.

"Whadya think ?" he asked, an inane grin on his face. "I can manage flying, mut haven't managed to land properly once yet. Seeing that Charlie had a longing look in his eyes, he gave a small shake of his head, mouthing 'not yet'. Charlie gave a small nod in understanding.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny still hadn't moved. Harry was waving his hand in front of their eyes and snapping his fingers in hope of a response, but to no avail. Finally, Ginny broke the spell.

Giving a high-pitched scream, she bolted for the house. "Blimey, what was that for ?" Fred asked, taking his hands off his ears after Ginnys scream.

"I'd say she was slightly shocked. We stil have Ron and Hermione to recover." Ron chose this moment to act.

"Wow, fantastic …" he managed to murmur before fainting. Hermione was just after him.

"I'll have to look that up in a book …" before fainting herself.

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Both Ron and Hermione were out of it for 5 minutes, while Ginny was locked up in her room and refused to come out, despite coaxing from both Bill and Charlie.When they finally arose, Ron was still slightly awestuck at Harry, and Hermione had to be convinced that it wasn't the kind of thing she could find in a book, no matter how many libraries she went through.

When everything had settled down and Harrys' belongings were in Rons room, Harry, Ron and Hermione were left alone in the family living room. The Weasleys had had lunch, and Harry had eaten in the school kitchens. Fred and George had gone back to their room to continue their escapade for the perfect prank, in other words, the one that would get them the most detentions at Hogwarts. Bill and Charlie had gone to Diagon alley with Molly and Arthur, Percy had gone to work, saying how much he would be missed. Not forgetting Ginny, who was still locked up in her room.

"Do you think Ginny will come down soon ?" Harry asked.

"I dunno. I suppose. She's always shy when you're around, but I've never seen her like this before."

"You've never seen me become a golden griffin before your eyes before" Harry joked.

"How else have you changed ?" Hermione asked, while Ron rolled his eyes.

"Well, my physical changes are obvious ("No kidding" Ron muttered). My senses are heightened, since I can see and hear much better. I'm more powerful magically, since Dumbledore decided to increase my training. We haven't really been spending many hours discovering how much I've changed. We're just going to learn as we go along."

"But wouldn't it be better to try and find out. We could help," she continued, eager to delve in some book to do some research.

"It would, but I don't want to be some lab rat while someone procedes to hex and curse me for the sake of science."

"How long are you staying, Harry ?" Ron interviened, sensing Harry didn't want to continue the subject. Harry look gratefully at his friend, while Hermione looked as if she wanted to carry on insisting.

"I'm leaving on Thurday morning. Charlie aranged it so I could visit the dragons in Romania. I'm sure you could come along, but we had better ask him first."

"What good is it visiting the dragons, since you can only turn into a griffin ?" Hermione asked. Harry cursed her inteligence.

"Erm, I … I can turn into more than a griffin." Seeing Rons perplexed expression, he continued, "I can also turn into a dragon."

Ron gaped, while Hermione had a look that was between smugness and shock.

"What … Which dragon … can you turn into ?" Ron stammered.

"An ancient Hungarian Horntail." Harry answered, a smile tugging the corner of his mouth.

"Blimey Harry, that's brilliant."

"I didn't want anyone to know yet, because I was afraid of peoples reactions. Plus, I don't think there was enough … descretion in your back yard." Harry continued.

"Yeah, probably. Hey Harry, you feel up to a game of Wizards chess ?"

"Sure Ron, although you'll probably still whup my ass."

"You got that right," Ron said with a grin, as he got his chess pieces and started to set them out on the board …

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They spend the rest of the time before dinner playing and chatting away. Harry had told Ron that he was a prefect, and Ron had pranced with joy for at least 5 minutes before calming down. Hermione knew that she was a prefect, which had really come as a surprise. For her, at least. They also wanted to know all the things that Harry was learning during his extra lessons, and Hermione was almost green with envy at the thought of learning so much during private lessons with the teachers. He also told them that Dumbledore had managed to get them the authorization to use magic during the holidays, but Hermione insisted it was just for school or an emergency, while Ron wanted to start cursing Fred and George.

Hermione also took the occasion to remind them that they had OWLs this year, and had better be prepared. Ron and Harry had both rolled their eyes, and said that they had plenty of time, since OWLs took place during the month of June. Harry wasn't worried, since he had already finished all his summer homework. Not forgetting that he was having extra lessons. Ron had been doing some homework aswell, mainly thanks to Hermiones nagging, … err, insistance.

Harry used this time to see how much they had changed during the time he hadn't seen them. Sure, a month and a half isn't a long time, but people can change a lot in such a short period. Ron, for one, had started a growth spurt. He stood at a shade under 6 foot tall, and would probably grow a couple of inches more. He had also gained a bit of muscle, since he was training at every free moment to be this years keeper. The other positions, except for seeker, were still occupied by seventh years, and Harry hoped that whoever was next years captain wouldn't have too much trouble to replace 5 players. Hermione had also grown and matured. She stood at roughly 5 foot 5 inches, and no longer had the physique of a girl, but rather that of a young lady. Harry wondered how he hadn't seen it before. She had also straightened her hair slightly, so that it was curly instead of bushy. She wore only a little bit of makeup, and harry had to say that she was very pretty indeed.

Arthur, Molly, Bill and Charlie came back around 5 o'clock. Bill and Charlie talked with the threesome, while Molly started dinner with the help of arthur. At half 6, on the dot, Molly called for dinner. Fred and George stampeded down the stairs, and took their seats. Fred, who was sitting next to Ginnys seat, put a cushion on it just before she entered the room. Sitting down, she was very surprised to hear a voice saying "Oi ! Geroff me !!". She jumped, and looked around, while Fred and George fought with their mouths, trying to stop the grims from breaking through. Ginny looked at the cushion and poked it, resulting in a high-pitched girlish giggle and a voice saying "hey, that tickles." The entire room errupted into laughter, except Molly who was trying to hold back and look sternly at the twins. Needless to say, she failed.

Dinner in itself was a very pleasant affair. Harry managed to eat his way through the five adult helpings Molly forced upon his plate, saying that he needed energy to keep him going. Bill said something about an attempt to eat them out of house and home, while Charlie mentionned his eating like a ravenous lion. Ginny was still acting extremely shy, and was even more reserved around Harry than she usually was. But she wasn't blushing anymore. Harry, however, didn't give it much thought, and continued chatting with the other family members.

After dinner, Hermione continued working on one of her holiday assignments, while Bill, Charlie, Ron and Harry played exploding snap in the living room. Arthur and Molly were also there, and would occasionally ask Harry and Hermione about some muggle invention. After he was satisfied, he would go on about how inventive and imaginative muggles were, that they deserved some credit for the technological advancements they made, and so on. He would only stop when Molly gave him _THAT_ look, only to ask about something else 10 minutes later. They went to bed late, with Bill and Charlie reminding him that they would give him his lessons tomorrow morning.

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"Harry, wake up ! Training time !" Bill muttered, shaking Harrys' shoulder.

"Huh ? What time is it ?" Harry muttered.

"7 in the morning."

"Go away, then. I'm still asleep." Harry mumbles, barely understandable.

"I'd hate to have to wake you in the usual manner." Harry knew what that ment : being soaked with ice-cold water. It wasn't the fact that is was cold that bothered him, since he barely noticed, but the water went into his ears, and his hair was hard to get dry again. He hated that.

"I'll be up in a sec," Harry muttered, starting to get up. Giving a large yawn, he managed to roll over onto his back and sit up. Slowly getting dressed, he went downstairs, trying to make the least noise possible. He was even quite successful in doing so. Entering the kitchen, he saw Bill with a mug of tea. "Hello, my favourite torturer" Harry said. "Any tea left ?"

Bill pointed to a mug that was next to a kettle. "Charlie won't be happy that I'm the favourite," he said with a smile.

"Bah, he just loves the dragon in me," Harry said, pouring the hot water into the mug and putting a tea-bag in. "

"And it's a very sexy beast, I must say" came a voice from the doorway. Harry turned, and saw Charlie decked out in training clothes. "Hurry up with your tea, then we can start. Harry nodded, removed the tea bag, adding sugar and milk. He took a few sips, finishing relatively quickly.

"Okay, ready, sir ! What shall I do, sir ?"

"We're starting with physical. Charlie will take you for a run around the block, and then you'll do it again, but quicker."

Harry and Charlie left through the front door. They started a leisurely jog around on a 2-mile course. Once they arrived at the house, Bill was waiting near the front gate. "Okay. Harry you remember the way ?" Harry nodded, jogging on the spot to keep his muscles warm. "Okay. Go. Be quick, but pace yourself." Harry gave another nod before setting off. He ran relatively quickly, finishing the run in 12 minutes. "Okay Harry, not bad. Do that again, twice. Then we'll carry on." Harry gave another nod, keeping the same pace.

Once that was over, the serious stuff started. They went to the back yard, since they had more privacy there. Harry had to complete 2 sets of 100 sit-ups, push-ups and squats. He then did another 50 push-ups, but with Bill sitting on his back. Next, he did a handstand, and started to complete 2 sets of 50 push-ups from his vertical position. Next, Harry stretched. He was already quite flexible, but didn't want to lose and flexibility and had to do a complete warm-up for Bills' and Charlies' training.

"Right. Now that Harrys' finished his warm up (Harry grunted), we'll start with some hand-to-hand combat. Charlie, you do this. You're a better fighter than me." Charlie continued the lessons they had started at Hogwarts. Harry was learning quickly, and had at times surprised Charlie with an original and effective move that caught him unawares. When asked about it, he shrugged, saying it was instinct. Bill would mutter "release the lion" while Charlie would say something about "dragon power", before they glared at each other.

After hand-to-hand, Harry worked on staffs, then sword fighting with Bill, finishing with axe and hammer workouts with Charlie. Halfway through his staff training, Ron had come out in his pyjamas to watch. He was amazed when he saw how well Hary was doing in such a short period of time. Harry said it was due to his teachers, Bill insisted it was his griffin ancestors and Charlie would rant about how dragons were superior to every other magical creature that ever existed.

Finally, Bill and Charlie called it a day. They had decided to give him longer lessons since he didn't have any other lessons when he stayed at the burrow. It was 11 o' click, and everyone in the house was awake. Harry didn't see Arthur or Percy, since they had gone to work early. Ginny had come down during breakfast, but had kept to herself, Hermione had spent all her time reading some supposedly passionate book about high-level spells or potions, Fred and George were inventing God-knows-what in their room, and Ron spent part of the morning watching Harry, the other part trying to strike up a conversation with Hermione, who would answer without looking up from her book.

There was still about an hour left before breakfast when Harry got dressed after leaving the shower. He went downstairs and joined Ron and Hermione in the living room. Hermione had finally relented and was playing against Ron in a fast and furious game of wizards chess. Fast, because Ron usually beat her in under 5 minutes, and furious because Hermione was angry that she wasn't any good at chess.

"I don't see why we bother trying to beat you, Ron. We never will," Hermione said, a bit grumpy since her defeat.

"Well, you never now. You might get me when I'm not at my best."

"Ron, you could beat up blindfolded, hands behind your back and dancing the tango, all at the same time," Harry said. "So, we're heading to Diagon Alley this afternoon. I've got to get some clothes, plus school supplies."

"Good idea Harry."

"Oh yes. Plus, there are several recommended books from Flourish and Blotts that I'd like to look at …" Hermione started. Harry and Ron bolted for the door before she could start again on the importance of OWLs and prefect duties …

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Lunch had been a pleasant affair. Everyone except Arthur and Percy had been there, and there was never a dull moment with Fred and George around. Thanks to Harrys' winnings from the Tri-wizard tournament, they had been enthusiastically trying out one prank after the other. They didn't dare try out too many of them on their own family, since Molly would ground them, or have them do some boring or hard chore around the house.

Two o' clock came, and everyone decided it was as good a time as any to get to Diagon alley. Fred and George were the first to leave. Ginny followed, then Ron, then Hermione, Harry bringing up the rear. Stepping out of the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron, Harry was happier. No-one, it seemed, recognized his to be the boy-who-lived. He could understand why, seeing as he had drastically changed. Instead, they saw him as a big wizard accompanying a group of younger wizards.

They left the read of the wizard pub, and Fred tapped the wall with his wand, causing the wall to reveal the entrance to Diagon alley. As usual, it was full of wizards and witches from all over the country, shopping for different wonderful and bizarre objects.

"Right. George and I are in charge, since we're the oldest here."

"But certainly not the most mature or sensible," Ron muttered to Harry.

"Nor the biggest," Harry muttered back with a grin.

"Now, how about we meet at Fortescues ice cream shop at 5 o' clock ? Sound good with everyone ?"

All present nodded. Fred and George ran off into the crowd, probably hedding to the joke shop, or the the apothecary for ingredients for their pranks.

"I have to get some money from Gringotts first," Harry said. He would have to get more money than usual, since he would have to buy himself some clothes. "Do hey sell muggle clothing here ?" he asked Ron.

"They sell a few at Madame Malkin's, but not much. Dad way prefers us to go into muggle London. We usually spend a couple of hours there, just so he can look in the most shops possible."

"Well, I'll have to change some money into muggle currency. Then we can go and get some clothes from muggle shops. You'll have to help me though, Hermione, since I've got no idea what kind of clothes I'll get." Harry said, as they were heading towards the wizarding bank. Considered on of the most secure places, it was run by goblins, who were known for their greediness and paranoia concerning material wealth.

Upon arriving, they entered, and Harry went down with Ron to the vaults, while Hermione waited. She had wanted to change the muggle money her parents had given her into wizarding currncy, but Ginny suggested that she just ask about the exchange rate, then she and Harry could change, thus not paying the high change rate the goblins had placed. Harry felt bad upon arriving at his vault, knowing that his parents had left him a large inheritance and that Rons family were quite poor. He also knew that they would refure to accept any payment or donation from Harry. He hurredly filled his pouch with gallons, sickles and knuts, before the two left and returned to the surface.

The foursome exited the bank. Harry and Hermione exchanged their money, Ron looking at the paper money as if it were some form of heresy. "Such a strange muggle invention …" he muttered, as they headed for Flourish and Blotts. They all bought their books, before heading for the Apothecary where they bought the potion ingrediants they would require. They passed from one shop to another, buying all the things they would need. Harry wanted to get his robes last before heading into muggle London. They saw a few of their school friends, and none of them recognized Harry at first sight. Parvarti and her Ravenclaw twin, Padma, had remarqued how hot he was, Sean was worried how it would affect his quidditch skills, and Neville just waved a brief hello before continuing to follow his grandmother. Needless to say, no one was told of Harrys' ancestory.

The girls allowed Rob and Harry to drool over the lastest broom, the Flight Master 2000, supposedly even better than the Firebolt. Harry, however, had no desire to change just yet. He could still get the best out of his Firebolt, better than what was expected. Finally, they made their way to Madame Malkin's.

"Good morning dears. How may I help you ?" she greeted them.

"All of us need new robes, for Hogwarts" Hermione said.

"Of course dear. Let's start with you then." Hermione went to stand on the stool, while Harry and Ron went to look at the dress robes. Harry found a dark green robe with gold trimmings. With than, he took a dark red cape, almost the colour of the Gryffindor house. Ron saw some beautiful dark blue robes, but didn't have the money to buy them. Harry remembered the deal he had struck with Fred and George when he gave them the tri-wizard winnings, and wondered when they would buy him the dress robes. Harry took his find and went to find Hermione and Ginny. They had both finished with their fittings.

"Your turn, dearie," she told Harry. He got up on the stool while she took measurements. Ron watched and waited his turn while Hermione and Ginny went to look at the dress robes. 5 minutes later, Harry stepped down, and Ron had his measurements taken. Once he was finished, he was about to step down when madame Malkin stopped him.

"Are you mister Ronald Weasley ?"

"Err, yes, ma'am." He managed to say, unsure of what was to follow.

"Now, someone told me to allow you to choose the dress robes you want. This person requested that the payment be adressed to them. But for dress robes only." Ron stood there shocked, while Harry watched his friend, smiling. Ron was still gaping when Harmione and Ginny returned.

"Why's Ron gaping like that ?" Hermione asked, holding some lush purple robes in her arms.

"Some annonymous benefactor decided to buy Ron the dress robes of his choice. He's in shock at the moment," Harry answered.

"Well good for him. Hold this, Harry" she said, shooving the robes into Harrys' arms, she started to pull Ron towards the back of the shop. "I saw some dark blue robes that would go really well on you …" she started. Harry paid for his robes, as did Ginny. 5 minutes later, Ron and Hermione came back Ron was carrying the dark blues robes he had fingered earlier, and had a huge smile on his face. He was still wondering who would buy him some dress robes, but didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Once all the robes were payed for, they headed for the leaky cauldron with their shopping. They asked Tom, the bar tender, if they could leave their stuff somewhere wile they were in muggle London. Tom was happy to oblige, putting their bags in a cupboard wile the 4 youths left the pub. They walked a few streets before stumbling upon a street filled with shops. Hermione and inny were ecstatic, wile Harry and Ron just wanted to get the clothes and be done. They still had about one and a half hours before they had to meet Fred and George, which was plently of time. Hopefully.

They walked down the street, arriving at a shop with a lot of designer clothes. Hermione and Ginny dragged Harry inside, Ron following the pack. Hermione started to chose an array of clothes and shoove them into Harrys' arms.After about three quartes of an hour, he had a selection of 5 jeans, 2 other casual trousers, about 15 tee-shirts and a couple of sleeveless muscle shirts to show off his powerful arms. They also forced upon him several shirts and a couple of jumpers. He also bought several pairs of shorts, boxers, and socks. Harry insisted upon buying each of them something. Although they refused at first, Harry said he wanted too. Hermione choose a dark blue long skirt with a peach coloured jumper. Ginny choose a dark red shirt and dark blue pair of jeans, while Ron choose a pair of black designer jeans and a dark orange shirt. He had wanted to buy some orange jeans, bu-t fortunately, there were none. Harry bought everything, and they left the shop. They were actually very lucky to have found stuff Harrys' size, when he thought about it, and he thanksed his lucky stars.

Next stop was for shoes. This went much quicker, since Harry already had a good idea about what he wanted. He bought 3 pairs of trainers, and 3 pairs of boots, having a particular fondness for Doc Martins. When he had everything he needed, they headed back towards the leaky Cauldron. Upon entering, they got their stuff from Tom and shruck it so that they could put it in their pockets. Once that was done, they still had 20-or-so minutes left before they had to meet Fred and George. They went to the ice cream parlor to enjoy some quality time. They all ordered, and spend a few minutes just talking over their food. However, someone just had too come along …

"So, the mudblood and 2 Weasels had to come and show themselves." Came the all too familiar drawl from the enemy. Draco Malfoys pale face walked aver, flanked with his 2 usual bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle, and his father just behind him. None of them had recognized Harry, but that would come. Ron and Ginny became red with suppressed anger.

"Just get lost, Malfoy," Ron said. Harry, however, took a completely different approach.

"Malfoy ! Good to see you !" Harry said, standing up. He had a huge smile on his face. The 3 others just looked at him, gaping.

"Do I know you ?" Malfoy asked. Harry made his way around the table, stopping just in front of Draco.

"Of course you know me !" he said, throwing his arms around Draco in a bear hug. Harry knew his friends must have a disgusted look on his face as he gave Draco a bone-breaking hug … literally. A pop, followed by 2 snaps so close together they almost sounded like one, could be heard from Dracos body. He gave a small gasp before fainting. Instantaneously Harry let go, his left fist coming into contact with Goyles gut while his right fist caught Crabbe straight on the chin. Both went down like a sack of potatoes. Lucius started to go for his wand, but quick as a flash Harry was before him. Grabbing his wrist, he twisted, forcing his arm behind his back. He was immobilized even before Draco hit the floor.

The sequence of events had been so quick that no one could have reacted, and so little noise had been made that only a couple of people had noticed what had happened. However, they chose to ignore it, moving down the street.

"Who are you ?" Licius hissed through the pain.

"You'll learn that soon enough. For now, if you want you and your son to leave in one piece, go now." Harry hissed back, releasing his arm and taking a step back. Lucius turned around, rubbing his pained shoulder, and looked at Harry straight in the eye.

"Potter ?"

"Took you long enough. Now get … lost."

"The dark lord will get you for this."

"One more word and I'll snap your neck. Now go." Harry said, looking at Lucius straight in the eye. Lucius took the hint, getting Draco and walking away and leaving Crabbe and Goyle on the floor where they fell. Harry moved them to the side, so as to be out of the way, before returnng to his seat and continuing to eat. Noticing the others were looking at him, he asked, "what ?"

"Blimey Harry. You broke Malfoys arm !" Ron exclaimed.

"Actually, I dislocated one arm, broke the other and cracked his collarbone. Nothing permanant" Harry countered, as if it wasn't important.

"But it's Malfoy. You could get into trouble," Hermione said.

"Look, almost no one saw. Most only saw me give him a friendly hug after a friendly greeting. The couple who really noticed didn't care what happened. Plus, it should get him off our back. Ah, there's Fred and George."

Fred and George arrived at the table, where Harry was eating and the three others were looking at him.

"Hey, guess what we saw ?" Fred asked exitedly.

"Dunno, Dumbledore in bermuda shorts ?" Ron asked. Ginny giggled at this, while Hermione snorted.

"No. We saw Lucius Malfoy carry Draco away. I wonder what happened" George mused.

"Ask Harry here." Ron said with a grin. Fred and George look intently at Harry, who had just finished his sundae and gave them an innocent puppy-eyes look.

"What, all I did was hug him. Not my fault he's so weak and frail." Fred and George just looked at Harry, then shrugged.

"Anyway, we better get going. Mum will have our heads if we're late." With that, they left the sundae parlor and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.

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The band arrived back at the Burrow. Harry and Ron went upstairs, and Harry put away all his clothes. Ron asked Harry if he had an idea who would pay for his new dress robes, and Harry just shrugged his shoulders. Harry got changed into a pair of jeans and a muscle tee-shirt, which left his powerful arms uncovered. Putting on a pair of trainers, he asked Ron, "How about we go fly for a bit ?"

"Sure. That'd be great. I'll ask the others if they want to join." In the end, the teams were Bill, Ron and Harry verses Charlie, Fred and George. No snitch. 2 chasers and one keeper. They used a slightly deflated football for a quaffle. One Harrys' team, since Ron wanted to train, he was the keeper, while Charlie played keeper on the other team. The score ended with a slight advantage for Bill and Harry. Fred and George could act well together, almost reading each others minds. However, Bill used to be a chaser, while Harry was considered one of the best players ever to play quidditch.

Dinner went well. Fred and George would tease Harry for wearing a sleeveless tee-shirt, and rolled their own sleeves up to show their arms. They would strike the occasionnal pose during the meal. It wasn't as impressive as Harry, but is wasn't bad thanks to their being the school teams beaters, which required some muscle.

After dinner, Harry only stayed up another hour or so. He was tired out from his day, and went up to bed, changed into some shorts to sleep, and dozed off into a peaceful slumber.

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	8. Chapter 08 : With the Dragons, Part 1

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. 

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read it. There are also those who take the additionnal time to leave a review. Thanks to them :** angelangie (**no Cho/Harry ship in this story. My other stories, that's another thing …**), john (**wow, thanks for the compliment. Don't repeat it, but I am, in fact, JK Rowling undae anoth pen name … KIDDING !!!**), Corrie (**something will happen next, it's …**), cami (**Good idea. I'll think of a nickname for him and find a good time to introduce it. Thanks for the suggestion.**), Jarvey (** THANK YOU !!! **) and Death-Demon Xero (**No, this will not be a Harry/Ginny fic. There are so many out there that it's one ship I'm trying to avoid. Not that I dislike it or anything like that, but I'm trying to stay out of _cliché_ with this story, as many readers may have noticed. ;) **).**

As always, all comments, flames (they'll be useful, winter is nearly upon us), words of encouragement, and anything else, are welcome. I'm glad too see many people are enjoying the story, which is basically the reason why I wrote it in the first place.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 08

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The band arrived back at the Burrow. Harry and Ron went upstairs, and Harry put away all his clothes. Ron asked Harry if he had an idea who would pay for his new dress robes, and Harry just shrugged his shoulders. Harry got changed into a pair of jeans and a muscle tee-shirt, which left his powerful arms uncovered. Putting on a pair of trainers, he asked Ron, "How about we go fly for a bit ?"

"Sure. That'd be great. I'll ask the others if they want to join." In the end, the teams were Bill, Ron and Harry verses Charlie, Fred and George. No snitch. 2 chasers and one keeper. They used a slightly deflated football for a quaffle. One Harrys' team, since Ron wanted to train, he was the keeper, while Charlie played keeper on the other team. The score ended with a slight advantage for Bill and Harry. Fred and George could act well together, almost reading each others minds. However, Bill used to be a chaser, while Harry was considered one of the best players ever to play quidditch.

Dinner went well. Fred and George would tease Harry for wearing a sleeveless tee-shirt, and rolled their own sleeves up to show their arms. They would strike the occasionnal pose during the meal. It wasn't as impressive as Harry, but is wasn't bad thanks to their being the school teams beaters, which required some muscle.

After dinner, Harry only stayed up another hour or so. He was tired out from his day, and went up to bed, changed into some shorts to sleep, and dozed off into a peaceful slumber.

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The next 2 days passed very well. Harry spent all his time with Ron and Hermione, either playing chess, flying around, helping Ron with some of his homework, or just talking. He also reminded them that they could do magic thanks to Dumbledore, and Hermione went on that they should only do so in extreme circumstances. Harry told her it would help her for homework or to get ahead in next years assignments. Ron groaned when Harry said this, but Hermione started on how this was such a good idea and wondering why she hadn't thought of that.

Harry saved Ron by chalenging him to a game of chess and losing in style : Ron only lost 2 pawns and a knight, while Harry lost everything except 3 pawns, a rook and a bishop. The three of them also did a few mock-duels in the paddock the Weasleys owned. Harry won each time, while Ron and Hermione won some, lost some. Hermione no doubt had a better grasp on spells, but Ron was quicker, and a good stragegist. He would use a good combination of spells to get Hermione confused before stunning her. They didn't disarm, since they could hurt themselves if they flew into a tree or something like that.

On Wednesday night, Charlie told Harry they would leave the following morning after breakfast, so Harry packed his belongings in his trunk. He sisn' lock it yet, since he would need a change of clothes for tomorrow. The evening went calmly by, Ron beating Harry in chess for the upteenth time and Hermione reading 'The Standard Book of Spells, grade 5'. She had already practiced all the charms in the first 2 chapters, much to Rons dismay. After all, he still had to spend the rest of the month with her. She had also taken all her assignments and wanted to make additionnal comments after practicing some of the charms she mentions. Ron had just rolled his eyes at this suggestion when she had made it before continuing to prepare for Divination. He and Harry had decided to prepare, so they had been writing lists of potential disasters that could happen to them. So far, they had 2 rolls of parchment between them. Ron was going to get the rest of his family to help him, while Harry was seriously considering droping the subject. Ron had looked appalled, while Hermione gave him a smug look and started going on about the usefulness of Arithmancy. He was considering Ancient Runes, but hadn't made a definite decision yet.

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The following morning (Thursday 17th), Harry woke up early. He didn't have training today, so he managed to have a lie-in till half past eight. Getting up, he got dressed into muggle clothing. Putting his sleeping shorts in his trunk, he locked it, shrunk it, and put it away in his pocket. It wouldn't have been too heavy, but cumbersome.

Harry went downstairs, put his trunk near the front door, and entered the kitchen. Molly was busy cooking, while Charlie, Bill and Arthur were talking and eating around the kitchen table. Percy had already left for work, saying that the ministry had required his presence, and everyone else was still asleep.

"Good morning Harry. Sleep well ?" Charlie cheerfully said as Harry sat down.

Giving some sort of grunt as an anwser, he woke up when Molly started to heap eggs, sausage, fried tomatoes and toast onto his plate. Making his way through the meal, he asked : "what time are we leaving ?"

"We'll be leaving at 10 o'clock. With the three-hour time diference, we'll be there for a late lunch." He answered. Harry nodded and continued to eat through breakfast.

"Harry, after the dragons, you'll be visiting the griffins in Egypt," Bill said. Harry looked up, amazed.

"Really ?" he asked,hopefull.

"Yes, really. You'll be staying 3 nights in Romania with Charlie. On the 20th, that's Sunday, I'll ge getting you in the morning to bring you to where I'm living in Eygpt. You'll spend a couple of days there with me, then I'll bring you back to Hogwarts."

"All right."

"Have you stocked up on food, dear brother of mine ?" Charlie asked, looking at Harrys plate where a mound of food had been minutes earlier.

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad."

"Yes you are." Charlie answered back, grinning.

"It's about time too. He's no longer a skinny little boy," Molly said lovingly, putting more food on his plate before he could say stop.

"That's one way of putting it," Ron said as he entered the kitchen. "Morning all."

"Morning" was the chorus of replys.

"So, what time you leaving Harry ?"

"10 o' clock."

"All right" he said as he started to eat some toast.

Fred and George came down a few minutes later. Identical down to the last freckle, they were the biggest trouble-makers Harry knew. Sirius excluding, of course. The girls came down 5 minutes later, looking more awake than the rest of the family. Arthur kissed his wife on the cheek, bid all a good day, and left for work.

The morning passed too quickly. He played chess with Ron. He lost, of course. He helped Ron with a curse he was trying to learn from the DADA school book. It caused the person it was cast on to loose his sense of hearing. Harry demonstrated, making Ron go temporarily deaf. Ron wanted to do it on Harry,but Harry told him it wouldn't work, but didn't tell him why. They asked Charlie to be their guinea pig, and he reluctently agreed, but agreed nontheless. Ron got it right after a couple of tries, and suggested to Fred and George that they do a sweet that renders someone completely deaf.

Finally, 10 o' clock came around. After saying good bye to everyone, and thanking Molly for allowing him to stay ("Don't mention it dear, it was a pleasure to have you around."), Charlie handed him the floo powder before stepping into the fire shouting "Charlies Dragon Nest."

Harry turned to the others. "Dragons Nest ?"

Ron shrugged. "You know how he is."

"Yeah, I suppose. Well, I better go. So you soon ?"

"You bet mate."

Harry grabbed his trunk, threw the floo powder onto the fire, turning the flames green, and stepped in saying "Charlies Dragon Nest" …

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He was convinced he had stepped into another world. The fireplace he stepped out of gave into a room filled with pictures of every species of dragon that existed. Small models of dragons paraded on the shelves, next to photos of Charlie tending the beasts. There were also photos of his family and co-workers. A small glass jar held what Harry supposed were the teeth of baby dragons, while another held what he supposed was an adults tooth., Needless to say, the difference in size was enourmous. One the wall were several local newspaper clippings featuring Charlie or the park where Harry supposed he worked.

"Like it ?" Charlie was standing in the middle of the room, watching Harry intently, waiting for some reaction.

"It's … it's … Wow !" was all he was able to say. "I see where the name comes from."

Charlie grinned. "It came from some of my mates from work. They came round and said it looked like a dragons nest. The name stuck. Come on, I'll show you to your room, then we can go get something to eat." Charlie left the room through the only door with Harry following. He came to a door and opened it. It gave onto a relatively small room with white walls and a dark blue carpet. The only furniture was a bed and a chest of draws. "This is my guest room. Make yourself at home. You'll probably have to enlargen the bed, so feel free. Bathrooms down the hall. My bedrooms the door oposite this one. Oh, and the kitchen is opposite the living room. I'll wait for you there."

Harry entered the room and dropped his trunk at the bottom of his bed. Looking around the room, he noticed the full-length mirror that was on the beck of the door. He wasn't going to be staying long, so he didn't see the point of unpacking everything he had brought. He next proceded to enlargen the bed and enforce it so that it could stand his weight. After teesting the bed, he left his room and went to the kitchen where Charlie had prepared 2 cups of tea. Taking the mug, Harry took a sip.

"We'll go in 10 minutes. This is the first time you've visited Romania, is it ?"

Harry nodded. "It's the first time I've left the UK. My family aren't great travelers, and it's not like they would take me along if they did go somewhere."

Charlie gave a small nod. "Well, at least you can say you've had an interesting holiday. You'll have visited Romania and Eygpt."

Finishing their tea over small talk, they put the mugs in the sink and exited the house. It was a small building situated in a small village on a mountainside. They started to walk up the street towards the top of the mountain, Charlie explaining things along the way : "he whole village is made up of people who work with the dragons. Anti-muggle charms have been placed, much like on Hogwarts and the other schools. The whole range of mountains has them. They form a circle, and the dragons stay in the center. It's a very big place, so transportation points have been set up. We're heading towards one now."

"I was wondering if we had to climb the whole mountain."

"No chance. Now, most of the dragons have been born here. They keep themselves seperate according to their species, so I'll be bringint you to where the hungarian horntails stay." They arrived at a small, windowless building. Charlie walked up to it, with Harry a meter behind. Pushing open the door, he entered, and Harry followed suit. Harry looked around. A young woman sat behind a desk to the right, with different papers in front of her. A fire was going in a large stone fireplace to the left.

"Hello Marlina." Charlie said.

The woman looked up, and Harry got a better look. She looked around25 years old, with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. Her skin was rather tanned. Harry thought she was rather pretty, all the more so after she smiled.

"Hello Charlie. I was wondering when you would be back. Who's that with you ?"

"Marline, this is Harry Potter. Harry, meet Marlina Martins." Harry stepped forward to shake her hand. Her eyes gave a very quick flick upwards to see the scar before returning to look into his eyes.

"You look very different to the photos in the newspaper."

Harry shrugged his shoulders as he let his hald fall to his side. "Magical growth spurt." Was all he replied.

She must have accepted this reply since she turned to Charlie. "So, where to today ?"

"I'm bringing Harry to the hungarian horntails."

She nodded and took out her wand as Charlie held out his hand. She muttered a charm and a golden mist came out of her wand. It enveloped his hand and was absorbed. Charlie put his hand back, and Harry held out his hand. She performed the charm again, only the mist wasn't absorbed and dispersed into the air. She looked up and gave Harry a pulled look. "Do you have some sort of protection charm on you ?"

Harry gave a small sigh. "Yes. It goes deep into my skin, and as far as I know, there's no way to temporarily disactivate it, I'm afraid. It neutralizes charms and curses, but I don't know much more."

She nodded and thought for a while. She looked at Harrys' out stretched hand before performing the charm 4 times in quick succession. After the firdst time, this mist started to disperse, but with several mists combining, it was slowly absorbed into Harrys' skin, making his hand glow gold for a second before fading. "There you go. I had to perform it several times more powerfully than usual It's a useful protection you've got there. It's a bit like a dragons skin, isn't it ?" she said.

"You could say that," he answered.

"Okay. Lets go. Harry, all the stations here are linked with a local floo network, se you don't have to be worried that you end up somewhere in China or something likee that, and it works like your regular floo network. Just follow my lead." He took some floo powder from the pot over the fireplace, threw it into the fire, and stepped in saying "Hungarian enclosure" before being whisked away. Harry followed, and was soon in another room not unlike the first.

"Okay, this station is the closest to where the hungarian horntails are staying. Let's go !" He said enthusiastically. They exited the building and followed the path that was before them. After a five minute walk with Charlie talking all about the horntails, they turned past a wall to a breathtaking sight. A valley stretched before them. Several horntails were flying around, and several thers could be seen on the ground in the distance, on the edge of a forest. "Beautiful sight, sin't it ?" Charlie said with a dreamy voice. Harry just nodded, he didn't trust his voice at the moment.

They started to walk down the path. It wasn't long before they could hear their cries. As they got closer, Harry could here something behind the cries. It sounded like … speech ? "Charlie, can you hear that ?"

"What, their cries. Impressive, isn't it ?"

"No, behind the screeches. I can hear voices …"

"What, like, they're talking or something ?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"It would seem like it. I can hear their cries at the same time though. Maybe it's some sort of mental communication …"

"Maybe …" They continued down the path, getting closer all the time. One of the airborn dragons must have noticed them, because he started to bank and head in their direction. "See the one coming ? He's the most domesticated one here. He will approach us and hasn't attacked anyone yet. He was born and raised up here. He's very intelligent. I think the others use him as some sort of envoy, since he meets us every time we come down." The dragon arrived and landed about 20 meters away before giving some sort of screech.

"_I recognize the flame-haired, but not the other …_" Harry could actually understand with it was saying. He wondered if he could answer back. He tried talking.

"Erm, can you understand me ?" he tentatively asked. The dragon looked at him.

"_Strange, he smells familiar. I think he's trying to communicate …_"

That was obviously a waste of time. So he tried mental communication.

'_Can you understand me ?_' he thought, directing his thoughts towards the nearby dragon.

The dragon, whose head had gone back to Charlie, froze, and turned to look at Harry. Slowly, he stepped forward, his gaze never wavering.

"_Did you just speak to me ?_" the dragon asked.

'_Yes, it was I._' Harry thought it was suicidal, holding a conversation with the dragon, but continued nontheless. '_I am here to see if you can provide me with information on one of my ancestors._'

"_Foolish human, how can you have a dragon as an ancestor ?_" he snorted, anger in his voice, err, thoughts. Harry tried to pacify him with his answer.

'_Many years ago, one of your kind had the ability to turn into a human. I am one his descendants. The last alive, as far as I know._' Harry crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping the dragon believed him. Charlie was a bid worried since the dragon had advanced upon them, something he had never done before.

"_I will go to see the council. Wait here._" With that, he stretched his wings and let off a loud cry, before taking off and headind towards the other side of the valley.

"What did he say ?" Charlie exitedly asked after he took his hands off his ears. This was a unique opportunity, to actually have someone who could communicate with the dragons.

"I told him about my ancestor. He told me to wait while he went to see the council, whatever that is …"

"I can't really say for sure. But in the caves on the other side, there are some caves where dwell the 3 oldest dragons here. I think he must be refering to that." Harry looked around. Seeing nowhere to sit, and not wanting to stand, he took out his wand and transfigures 2 stones into chairs. They sat down and talked. About 2 hours later, in the middle of the afternoon, they saw the dragon return. Standing up and returning the chairs to their original form, he watched the dragon return.

"_Human, the council requests your presence. You will climb onto my back, and I will bring you there._"

'_I can assume my dragons form. Would it not be easier ?_"

"_Indeed it would. You will be staying till next light._"

Harry turned to Charlie. "He says I'll be staying overnight, so you better head on home. Unles syou have some dragons to see."

"There are several people I want to see …" he said, his ears becoming slightly pink.

"Maybe a certain someone ?" Harry said with a grin. Charlies blush becoming stronger only confirmed this. "Okay. I'll see you here tomorrow ?"

"Sure thing." With that, Charlie turned and headed back up the path. Harry turned back towards the dragon, who was looking at him. Harry concentrated, and quickly turned into the hungarian horntail. He was slightly bigger than the dragon that was before him.

"_Very well. Follow me._" With that, he stretched his wings and took off, followed by Harry. They flew quickly for several minutes, and soon reached the other side of the valley. Harry could but estimate the time it took and the distance at which they had flown, but guessed that it had been quick. His compagnon was heading for an enormous cave entrance in the mountainside. He flew in and landed. Harry stumbled slightly, but caught himself before landing on his face. 'Better, Potter, better' he thought to himùself. His guide was moving towards the back of the caves. Harry kept his dragonic form, assuming it would be safer, and followed after carefully folding his wings.

The caves were simple. It was one long, straight tunnel, leading into a absolutely huge cave. At the far end were 3 dragons, about one-and-a-half Harrys' size. Harry could literally _feel_ the age, the power, the wisdom that came off them. Coming close, his guide came before them, bowed, and moved to the side. Harry stopped before them and bowed, before raising his head to look at them.

"**_So, this is the one who claims to hame a dragon ancestor_**" came the remark from the dragon on the right. "**_You are aware that we have means to verify the validity of your statement ?_**"

'_I was not aware of this. Nonetheless, if it wasn't true, I would not be before you as a dragon._' Harry argued.

"**_True, yet, you have no knowledge of our ways._**"

'_This is true. I was raised as a human. Only recently was my heritage revealed to me._' Harry hoped that this would convince them. If it didn't, Harry didn't want to think of the consequences.

The 3 dragons looked at each other. Harry could hear some buzzing, with the odd word coming through, so he supposed it was some sort of private communication. This went on fir about 10 minutes, before they turned to face him once again.

"**_We will bring you to a special place. We will leave tonight, so as not to attract attention, and return tomorrow night. We will go to a place where your heritage will be more fully revealed._**"

'_A human, the one who brought me here, will be waiting for me. Is there a way for me to warn him ?_'

"**_Brom here will bring him a message if you are able to leave one._**"

Harry looked around. Unfortunately, and logically, there was nothing that he could use to write. And he was sure that he didn't bring a quill, ink and parchment with him. So he did the next best thing. After becoming a human, he took 2 stones, one pointed and one flat. He transfigured the flat stone into a tablet before using a softening charm. He engraved a message('Dear Charlie, the dragons have brought me somewhere. I'll be with them one day more than expected. See you soon. Harry.') before removing the softening charm. He handed the tablet to Brom, who took it with his claws, before turning back into a dragon.

"**_You will be spending the rest of the day here. Rest now, for the flight that we will undertake is rather long._**" Harry followed Bron to another cave, lay down next to a portion of wall, and fell asleep as naturally as if he was if human form.

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He awoke as the sun was setting. Brom had come to wake him up, and was nudging him awake.

"_Awaken. The elders are ready to leave,_" he said. Harry rose and followed him back to the cave where he had met the council. Upon arriving, he saw that 2 were standing magestically in the middle of the room.

"**_Come. We leave now._**"

With that, they moved towards the entrance with Harry following. They arrived just as the last rays of sun left the sky. Harrys eyes adjusted almost instantly, and he was able to see what seemed to be a micture of infrared and heat-vision. It was surprisingly easy to see. He didn't know about this, since he had never stayed outside to transform after dark had fallen. He saw the 2 elders open their wings and take to flight, and Harry quickly followed suit. Rising easily, they 3 dragons left the valley, borne away on wings in flight …

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

They arrived at their destination shortly before sunrise. They had to fly quite slowly, and at a very high altitude to avoid being detected by humans. The elders may have been dragons, they didn't want to alert any humans of their presence. They were above a mountain range when they banked so suddenly that Harry almost didn't follow. They slowly descended till they were level with the tops of the mountains. Harry could feel the area was alive with magic and was attracted to the mountain they were heading for. The feeling had been with him every time he had assumed dragons form, but ever so faintly. During the flight, it had slowly grown stronger, to a more noticable level. Now, however, it would be impossible to ignore.

On the side of the mountain there was another cave entrance, as large as the one they had left in Romania. The 2 elders flew straight in, without slowing down. Harry followed, less sure of himself, but not wanting to lose the elder dragons. The cave was straight and large, allowing them to fly quite quickly. They weren't slowed down by anything, as they had been on the trip over, and soon the only sound that could be heard was the wind whistling through their wings. Looking forward, Harry couldn't see the end of the tunnel. He could just see the walls as they flashed by. Harry briefly wondered how fast they were going, and where they were. Just then, he saw a light at the end of the tunnel. As they drew closer, Harry could see what appeared to be a quickly approaching wall of light. Never slowing down, they sped ever forward. The first dragon arrived, passing through. He second likewise. Leaving Harry. One more flap of his wings and he shot through the wall of light …

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Authors Note **:** Tada Another chapter done. Hope you enjoyed it. He rest should be along shortly.


	9. Chapter 09 : With the Dragons, Part 2

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. 

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read it. There are also those who take the additionnal time to leave a review. Thanks to them :** wquad (** J **), Brion, Oceanic (**hmmm, quite, pray tell, what illegal substances have you been smoking, and where can I get some ?**), john, shdurrani, Erinamation-limited2-nothing and Corrie.**

As always, all comments, flames (they'll be useful, winter is nearly upon us), words of encouragement, and anything else, are welcome. I'm glad too see many people are enjoying the story, which is basically the reason why I wrote it in the first place.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 09

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On the side of the mountain there was another cave entrance, as large as the one they had left in Romania. The 2 elders flew straight in, without slowing down. Harry followed, less sure of himself, but not wanting to lose the elder dragons. The cave was straight and large, allowing them to fly quite quickly. They weren't slowed down by anything, as they had been on the trip over, and soon the only sound that could be heard was the wind whistling through their wings. Looking forward, Harry couldn't see the end of the tunnel. He could just see the walls as they flashed by. Harry briefly wondered how fast they were going, and where they were. Just then, he saw a light at the end of the tunnel. As they drew closer, Harry could see what appeared to be a quickly approaching wall of light. Never slowing down, they sped ever forward. The first dragon arrived, passing through. He second likewise. Leaving Harry. One more flap of his wings and he shot through the wall of light …

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… into open sky. Harry was slightly startled by the sudden brightness, but his eyes quickly adjusted themselves to the light. Besides himself and the 2 elder dragons he had been following, several other dragons were flying about in the sky. A brief glance behind his showed solid ground. He briefly wondered how they would be returning back before flapping his wings to catch up with the elder horntails.

They flew for what Harry estimated was an hour more. They seemed to be flying towards what looked suspiciously like a castle, situated on a mountain top. They flew at a relaxed pace. As they drew closer, Harry saw that it was indeed a castle. Harry wondered who built it, since the dragons couldn't have. Could they ?

They arrived. Before the castle was a huge courtyard, devoid of life. The three dragons landed. Harry wondered what they were going to do. Then, the 2 horntails shimmered with a golden light before shrinking. Harry continued to look on as they slowly took on a vaguely human shape. When the light dimmed, before him stood 2 humans, .. almost. They were bigger than the average human, probably about 2-and-a-half meters tall. They also had a magnificent pair of dragons wings on their backs. They turned and looked at Harry. He concentrated on his human form, and soon stood before them.

"**_What about your wings ? Aren't you going to present them ?_**" said the dragonian on the right.

"I'm … I don't know how to get them." Harry said, slightly embarassed. The dragon smiled.

"**_Think about how you pass from one form to another, and … adapt._**"

Harry gave this a little thought. When he transformed, he imagined his present form and desired form, imagining his present form melting into the desired form. Closing his eyes, he imagined himself as he was. Next to that mental picture, he imagined another version of himself, slightly bigger, with dragons wings on his back. He imagined the merger, feeling his bones, organs and muscles moving, as well as a tingling in his back. When everything stopped moving, he opened his eyes to see the others smiling at him.

"**_You seem to have managed very well. My name is Tiamat, and this …_**" indicating the other dragon "**_… is Glaurung. We are going to see the king of Dragonia to discuss about … you. Follow me._**"

"Erm, not wanting to be disrispectful, but my name is …" He didn't get to finish his sentance, however.

"**_We do not know your name, nor do we have any need for it. Your human family may have given you a name, but that name if for humans. Dragons recieve names that are chosen for them. You will learn yours shortly._**" With that, the 2 dragons turned and entered the castle, followed by Harry. They passed from room to corridor to room. They would sometimes cross another dragon in human form, but wouldn't speak a word with anyone. They finally arrived before a huge door, at least 10 meters high, and almost as large. Tiamat raised his hand, and knocked.

Boom ! Boom ! Boom ! The sound echoed around. He dropped his hand and waited. The doors slowly opened, silently. It gave onto what appeared to Harry to be a hugh throne room. About 100 meters long and 20 wide, with a ceiling about 30 meters high. A rich red carpet lay before them, leading to a huge throne on the far wall. On either side of the carpet was statues of different dragonians in armour, holding massive weapons, mainly swords, axes and lances. They were carved with great attention to detail, and no 2 statues were the same. The 2 dragons strode down the alley with a confident step. Harry slightly smaller, followed, his eyes roving and drinking everything in.

After what seemed like an eternity to Harry, they arrived before the throne. On it was seated someone really ancient. The elders looked about 50, in human terms. But the dragon seated on the throne had a beard that would put Dumbledore to shame. But still had the physique of the elders, possible even more develloped. Leaning on the throne was a sword, which must have been over 2 meters long. He radiated power and wisdom. Tiamat and Glaurung kneeled before the king, and Harry followed suit, bowing his head.

"**_My siege, we bring before you a human, who claims to have a dragon ancestor. He claims that this dragon was a shapechanger, and had a child with a human._**" The king looked intently at Harry, who raised his eyes. Their eyes locked. Harry couldn't move. The kings eyes seemed to be piercing him, delving into the very depths of his mind, looking at each and every memory.

"**Bring him to the 'Wall of Beings'. There, he will find the answer.**" The king had a strong, yet melodious voice. Kind, yet firm. The elders nodded, before getting up and turning around. Harry got up, moved aside to let the elders pass, and followed them. As they left, Harry could feel the kings eyes on him, yet not oppressive in any way. Hey left the room and carried down the corridor.

"Erm, sorry to bother you, but what _is_ the Wall of Beings ?" Harry asked.

"**_The Wall of Beings gives information on every dragon born. If you are at least part dragon, your name will be on the wall._**"

"Oh," was the only thing Harry could say. He wondered if it could trace back family lines. They arrived back into the courtyard. Walking over to the edge, the 2 elders looked down and slowly, leaning forward, fell of the edge. Harry rushed forward, and watched as they glided away. '_Bugger, I've got no choice but to follow_.' He stood, leaned forward, and fell …

Feeling the wind catching, he stretched his winds. He wasn't flying, but more gliding after the elders, who were still heading down at breakneck speeds. They followed the mountain slope for some time. Nearing the base, they lifted their wings and started to fly low to the ground. Harry followed suit, finding that it was actually pretty cool to fly in this form. Landings might be easier, too. It couldn't be any worse than what he had done his first few attempts.

They followed the ground for some time at rather elevated speeds. There wasn't much vegatation, nor animals, for that matter. And Harry hadn't spotted many stretches of water other than the odd stream or small river. Harry wondered what they ate and drank, but he could learn that at another time. For now, he was going to learn about his ancestor, his … family.

Now that was a funny thought that just popped into his mind. If he had a dragon ancestor, then maybe he was related in some way to some of the dragons. It would be funny if the horntail he had been up against during the first task of the tri-wizard competition was actually his cousin 4 times removed or something like that. Maybe he was even related to the king. '_Nah, probably not …_' They eventually came to a mountain side. The side of the mountain, however, was completely flat and vertical. The 2 elders landed at its foot, and Harry … attempted … to land. He had gotten off to a good start, but he had been heading forward too fast, and ended up tripping over his feet. He just managed to keep his face off the ground. Slowly, he got up to see the other 2 dragons smiling at him.

"**_You have to reverse your wings before landing. It slows you down, so that you have an easy landing._**"

"Oh." He hadn't thought of that, but now that Glaurung mentionned it, it was logical.

"**_Now, come over here and place your hand on the Wall of Beings. It will reveal your ancestory, your family tree, as you call it._**"

Harry nodded and walked over. Slowly, he raised his hand, and pressed it firmly against the wall. The outline of his hand shone briefly before fading. Harry sighed and was about to remove his hand whan lines started to appear, snaking over the surface of the stone, forming lines, pictures and runes. And, strangely enough, he could read the runes easily. He was sure, there and then, that he would drop divination for ancient runes.

After 5 minutes or so, the wall stopped moving. The lines, pictures and runes were glowing with a slightly golden light. Harry removed his hand, and saw, underneath it, 3 pictures : a human, a griffin and a dragon. Just above it was a picture of a human, the 2 pictures joined with a golden thread. Underneath the humans picture was the word 'Lily'. '_That, that must be my mum._' Looking back as his picture, he saw 2 words. Underneath the human was 'Harry', clearly shining in golden runes. And underneath the dragon was the word : 'BrightBlaze'.

"Brightblaze." He whispered softly.

"**_Yes, that is your dragonic name. When you address yourself to another dragon, always use this name._**"

"How do names get chosen ?" he asked.

"**_No one knows. Once the baby comes out of the egg, the mother instinctively knows the name. It is a mystery as to how the name is actually chosen._**" Harry followed the lines. On his fathers side, it only went back 2 generations, so he got to see the names of his grandparents. On his mothers side, the lines went very far up. Following the lines of his mothers father, he had to fly up several stories before he came to a name where the picture was a human and a dragon. Underneath was a single name.

"Borghild." Harry said, reading the name. Immediately, the 2 elders looked up.

"**_What name did you say ?_**" Tiamat called up.

"Borghild," Harry called down.

"**_And the fathers name ?_**"

Harry looked above. "Borislav," Harry called down. The 2 elders flew up to Harrys level, and looked.

"**_Well, well, this is a surprise._**" He murmured. Flying up a bit more, Tiamat looked at several other names before coming back to Harrys level. "**_ It would seem that you descend from a family of nobility, BrightBlaze._**"

"Me ? But, how ?" Harry stammered.

"**_Come back down, I will tell you._**" They flew back down and when they reached the ground, he continued to talk. "**_First, an explaination. You are presently in the dragon realm, a sort of parallel universe. Your realm is called the mortal realm. The dragon realm is only accessible to dragons or their offspring, even if they were not born here. In this realm, we can turn into this humanoïd form, something which we cannot do in your realm, although you may be able to._**"

Glaurung continued. "**_This realm is as old as any. We have our history, just like any other realm. Before the passage between the realm was discovered, we all stayed here. We didn't always have a kingdom and peace, as we do now. Dragons would group together according to species, and would sometimes fight against each other in small-scale wars. As time passed, different arts and crafts, magical and non-magical, were develloped, much like your realm. One day, many cycles ago, the chiefs of the different groups got together and started to talk. They talked for many days and nights, before finally, an accord was put in place. The beginnings of a kingdom was put up. Knowledge was centralized and distributed, as were food and land. Before long, the kingdom was completely installed. From that day, the laws have not changed. Some have been added, since the discovery of the passages between realms, but other than that, we lived the same way we used to._**"

"**_With a kingdom comes the need of a king, guards, and nobility. Several familys, which had made outstanding discoveries, were called noble. And titles were made, according to the degre of the discovery. Of course, laws had to me made so that a discovery wasn't abused._**"

"**_Your ancestor, Borislav, was a member of nobility, one of the greatest. His ancestors had made great progress in the use of magic, and invented a great number of spells and charms that can only be used by our kind. He was also a great warrior, able to use weapons with great skill. He was one of the most honoured of our kind ever to serve the king. And as his descendant, you are therefore a member of nobility_**"

When Harry heard this, he was flabbergasted. Him, a noble. "Wha- … what was h-his t-title ?" he managed to stammer out, once he regained control of his mouth.

"**_He was refered to, as you will be, as BattleMage Borislav. He is one of the few members of nobilty to reach this title, one of the highest. Higher than his brother, Lord Buristav, my ancestor._**" Tiamat said.

Harry was still under the shock of being a member of nobility. A few moments of silence passed before the information sunk in. "Wait. You mean … we're related ?" he gasped.

"**_Yes. I believe I would be something like your great-great-great uncle._**" Tiamat said with a smile.

Harrys legs buckled, and he fell on his backside with a truly un-noble thump, his mouth open, looking at the elder standing before him with an amused smile on his lips.

"**_Come, I will bring you to your family estate, which is rightfully yours since your birthright as firstborn._**"

Harry was still gaping, but stood up nontheless. He followed Tiamat as he flew off, and was himself followed by Glaurung. His mind was reeling still from the information, and he didn't even notice the lines and pictures that were fading from odd the mountainside. He was a noble. Blimey ! Wait till he told Ron this ! On second thoughts, maybe it was a better idea if he didn't.

After an hour flying, Harry was still lost in thought. He almost missed Tiamat starting to descend, but noticed just in time to follow. He was heading for a large castle situated on the side of the mountain. A courtyard, much like in the kings castle, was also present. The 3 landed, and walked towards the large double-doors, obviously the entrance, and stopped just before.

"**_Since the death of Borislav, the doors have stayed locked, since only the owner of the castle can open the doors. After his death, Borghild left, and the doors have remained locked ever since. But now is the time for them to open._**" He stood to the side and let Harry pass. "**_It is up to you to open them._**"

Harry nodded. He raised his hand and pushed, one hand on each door. The doors shone with a golden light, before swinging open. Harry was hit with a wake of memories, and instinctively knew the layout of the castle : the corridors, the rooms, the kitchens, the caves and dungeons, … everything. He was amazed at the size and complexity of the building, as well as the charms that were protecting the castle. It was awe-inspiring. One room, however, stuck in his mind. It looked to be in the middle of the castle, and was heavily protected.

"There is a room calling me." He stepped in, slowly moving forward, as if called by the presence of the room. The 2 elders followed, not knowing where he was going. Harry walked forward, slowly gaining speed before starting to run flat out towards the room, turning corners with frightening speed and agility. The elders had a hard time keeping up. He eventually arrived before a large set of black double-doors. He just looked at them, and could see the energy they contained. He turned to the elders, who were standing several meters behind. "I must enter alone. Please, wait here." They nodded, before Harry took a step forward. He raised his hand and placed it against the door. Harry shone with a gold and silver light, before starting to walk through the door, leaving the 2 elders behing him …

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Harry arrived in a large circular room. There were no windows, no doors other than the one he just came through. Along the walls were a great number of globes, all of them giving of a different coloured light. The only other sources of light were the door behind him, and a glass globe, placed on a stone piedestal in the center of the room, that shone with a green and red light. It was this globe that was calling him, beckoning him to come forward.

Harry walked flowly forward, compeled by some unknown desire impossible to fight. He reached out slowly and touched the globe.

"_Welcome. If you are here, you are my descendant. My name is not important, and is lost in time. It was I who created the castle. Over the years, my descandants have also worked on it, adding protections, rooms, and other things. At their death, their memories have been transfered into one of the globes that are in the room. By touching the globe, you can commiuniacte with them, asking them questions and learning from them. It represents many years of knowledge and experiences._"

Harry removed his finger and walked to where the globes started. Reading the names along the walls underneath each globe, he made his way along until he reached a name which way more than familiar. It was the last globe to have appeared. The name shone brightly underneath, engraved in golden runes : '**Lily Evans-Potter**' …

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The king hadn't moved since Harry had first arrived this morning. When he told of his ancestor, he immediately thought of the rest of the family line, noble each and every one of them.

Several hours later, the doors opened one again, and the same 3 persons entered. But this time, it was Harry who led, while the 2 others followed. '_He must be aware of his rank now,_' he thought. The three arrived before the king, kneeled, and bowed.

"Sire." It was Harry who spoke. "I, BrightBlaze, present myself to you."

"**I accept your pledge, BrightBlaze. Arise.**" With that, Harry stood up.

"Sire, before I leave, I would like to retreive what Borislav, my ancestor, left in your ancestors care. I spoke with his memory, and he told me about certain objects that he entrusted to your family."

The king nodded before rising from his seat. He started towards a door to the right of the throne, beckoning the 3 to follow him. Leaving the throne room, he went through a maze of corridors before reaching a large door. Opening it, he entered the room, which contained an impressive array of weapons. He moved towards the far end of the room, where 2 swords and an axe were kept in a glass case. The swords measured each 2 meters in length. The pommel contained several precious stones, and the hilt was wrapped in fine dragonhide. Runes that glowed with gold, red, green, blue or purple lights ran the length of the blade, glowing slightly. The axe, too, was magnificent. Measuring between 2 and 3 meters in length, the handle was too wrapped in dragonhide, and the 2 blades that made up the head looked deadly. They were also covered in runes, along the cutting edge and on the support.

"**The casing will only allow their owners to take them.**"

Harry stretched out his hand, pressing against the glass. His hand seemed to melt into the glass, as if it were some sort of jelly. He grabbed one of the swords before bringing up his other hand to grab the second sword. Slowly pulling, he removed both swords, bringing them out. Slinging them over his back, he deftly tied them on as if he had done it all his life. Next, he removed the axe from the casing. He could feel the magic coursing through the weapon. He didn't move for a few seconds, just holding it, before tying it onto his back. Turning around, he bowed. The king turned around and led them back to the throne room and taking seating himself on the throne once again.

"**Young BrightBlaze, if I'm not mistaken, you have conversed with many memories of your ancestors.**" Seeing Harrys eyes widen slightly, he chuckled, reminding Harry of Dumbledore. "**I know what lies in your castle. Remember, your ancestors have served mine for many, many years. And they taught my family many secrets that have been passed down. I will say no more. But remember this : while your place is in the other realm, there will always be a place for you here.**"

Harry nodded, understanding what the king meant. If ever he needed a place of refuge, this is where he could find it. Turning around, he left the room, followed by the 2 elders. Once again, they arrived in the courtyard. Turning to the elders, Harry simply stated "It's time for me to return home."

The elders nodded. "**_Home is where the heart is. But remember, you also have a dragons heart._**" With that, they took their dragons form, and took of, heading for the portal that would bring them to the mortal realm …

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They flew back to Romania slowly and by night, just as they came over. During the flight, Harry would muse over what had happened. He had learnt of his dragonic name, his family, and had conversed with his ancestors. Well, their memories. When he touched the memory stone, it acted like a penseive, bringing him into the stone. He had spoken with his mother. She had told him how proud she was at how he had grown up, and to tell Sirius that she was sorry about what had happened.

They arrived back in the valley of the horntails at dawn. The elders went to their cave, while Harry went where he had left Charlie. As he drew closer, he saw someone waiting for him : Charlie. He banked, and slowly made his approach while Charlie looked on. Skimming the ground, he turned his wings upwards, slowing himself down for a much more graceful landing. He was so surprised of his good landing, he almost forget to bend his legs at the right time. He transformed back into human form, and grinned at Charlie.

"How are you Charlie ? Get my message alright ?"

"Yeah, but I was surprised. Why did you engrave it ?"

"I don't walk aroung with spare parchment, ink and quill with me, Charlie. I had to make do with what I had at hand."

"Right. What are you doing with those weapons on you ?"

"I'll explain once he get back to your place." With that, they walked back to the floo station.

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Harry and Charlie were sitting in his living room, sipping a mug of tea. Harry had deposited his weapons in his room, had taken a shower and changed his clothes into plain t-shirt and jeans. He wasn't wearing any shoes, enjoying the carpet underneath his feet. He had told Charlie everything that had happened, save for his dragon name (he had the feeling that he should only use it with dragons), his title and his castle. He had explained about the king, and the things he had seen. Carlie was listening with rapt attention

"Blimey, do you realize how exiting this is ? You can talk with them. You've gone to their realm. This is … incredible !"

"It is isn't it ?"

"You ready for some lunch ?"

"You bet. I didn't actually eat when I was in the dragon realm. I didn't get the urge. The flight was a bit tiring, though."

Charlie cooked up a large meal, which he and Charlie went through. During lunch, Harry asked, "hey Charlie, is there somewhere near here that does tatoos ?"

"Yeah. There's a place in the next village that does wizarding tatoos. Best place to do dragons. What did you have in mind ?"

"You'll see."

After lunch, they flooed to the next town. They walked up to the tatoo parlor, where Harry asked to have a tatoo of a Hungarian Horntail on his left arm, with the tail starting on his shoulder and the head on his forearm, near the elbow. On his forearm he would have some runes. In dragonic runes, he wrote out his name, and the tatoo artist put them on. Charlie asked what they meant, but Harry just smiled and muttered something about a name. It hurt like hell, but Harry was very pleased with the end result. It looked almost exactly as he did, and was an impressive work of art. Charlie told Harry he had wanted a dragon tatoo, but didn't know which one. Harry wondered briefly how Ron would react to the tatoo.

Afterwards, Charlie presented Harry his to Sarah, his current girlfriend. The three of them talked about dragons till dinner time, when Sarah invited them to eat at her place, which was only a few houses down from Charlies house. She was stunned by Harrys' new tatoo, and found it wonderful. They had a good evening. Harry left earlier than Charlie because he wanted to get a goods night sleep. Charlie came back when Harry was asleep, much later …

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Harry and Charlie were up relatively late. Bill had warned that he would be there at about 10 o'clock, local time, so they got up at 9 and had a relaxed breakfast. Charlie was still pretty knackered, since he had come home very late last night. He was still in his pyjamas (which only consisted of pyjama bottoms, leaving his muscular arms and chest uncovered) while Harry had hastily dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt. At ten o' clock, on the dot, they heard noise from the living room.

"Anybody here ?"

"We're in the kitchen, Bill. Get over here." Charlie called. A few seconds later, he entered the kitchen, a wide grin on his face.

"Aha, breakfast. Brilliant. Move over, I'll have a bite to eat before we get back." He drew himself a chair and started to steal food from both their plates, although Charlie wouldn't let anything go without a small scuffle. The meal was soon over. Harry showed Bill his tatoo, and Bill was thuroughly impressed with it. He, too, had thought of getting one, but didn't know what to get. Harry found it rather funny that both brothers wanted a tatoo, one didn't know what and the other couldn't choose due to too much choice.

"Right, Harry. Ready to go ?" Bill asked, leaning back in his chair once everyone had finished their breakfast.

"Yep. I'll go get my stuff."

"You do that. We'll talk about what happened when we get to my place."

Harry got up and went to his room, then shrunk his trunk and pocketed it. He had tried to shrink the weapons he had gotten from the dragon realm, but that had prooved impossible. It took him 5 minutes before he found that if he held them in his hand and willed them to shrink, they could all be shrunk to be about 1 meter in length. No smaller. He attached them onto his belt before walking his way back to the kitchen.

"Nice shortsword Harry. You'll tell me where you got it from, won't you ?" Bill said as Harry enetered the kitchen.

"You bet. But after the explaination, you won't be calling them short," Harry answered with a grin. They made their way to the living room. Bill gave a small wave to his brother before taking some floo powder. He threw it into the fire and stepped into the green flames, saying "Bills Crypt", and was whisked off. Harry shook Charlies hand.

"Be seeing you mate. Take care. If you ever want to visit, send me an owl. I'm sure there are several dragons that would like to see you."

"Thanks for the offer, I might take you up on that. See you." He took some floo powder, throwing it into the fire, saying in a loud and clear voice "Bills Crypt." He was instantly whisked away, spinning past fireplaces for about a minute before being thrown out of a fireplace in a cloud of soot …

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	10. Chapter 10 : Griffin Lore

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. 

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read it. There are also those who take the additionnal time to leave a review. Thanks to them :** Fair Lady Ravenclaw (**Maybe …**), Elspethelf, john, Corrie, Rogue1615, Phoenix of Light (**Thank you. I thought the idea of him getting a tatoo was rather cool, so I put it in. Expect the unexpected, or something like that …**), fallendruid (**Thanks. I know it's another 'Harry-gets-oh-so-powerful' story, but I'm trying not to exaggerate it too much. However, with ancestors like his, it's impossible not to be more powerful. It's not like he can suddenly cast any spell, he will still hae to learn them and everything, so I hope I'm achieving my goal of making him more powerful, but not overwhelmingly so**), Animagiman, Jon (**I see your point concerning the weapons. However, since the dragons in that realm have 2 forms, it's not quite the same thing as using human skin on human weapons. Not forgetting the fact that dragonhide must be one of, if not the, most resistant and resiliant materials that exists. You raised a good point, I just hope I made my point clear. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. ;) **), athenakitty, crab, cami, (blank), Death-Demon Xero, Kota Dawn, chibi-Tenshi, deranged black kitten of doom and Illustrious Sorrow.**

As a final note, all comments, flames, words of encouragement, and anything else, are welcome. I'm glad too see many people are enjoying the story, which is basically the reason why I wrote it in the first place.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 10

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They made their way to the living room. Bill gave a small wave to his brother before taking some floo powder. He threw it into the fire and stepped into the green flames, saying "Bills Crypt", and was whisked off. Harry shook Charlies hand.

"Be seeing you mate. Take care. If you ever want to visit, send me an owl. I'm sure there are several dragons that would like to see you."

"Thanks for the offer, I might take you up on that. See you." He took some floo powder, throwing it into the fire, saying in a loud and clear voice "Bills Crypt." He was instantly whisked away, spinning past fireplaces for about a minute before being thrown out of a fireplace in a cloud of soot …

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Opening his eyes, he looked around the room he was in. Thankfully, he saw Bill standing up, getting the last specks of soot of his boots. Slowly getting up, Harry got a better look around where he was. The room wasn't elaborately furnished, with a few worn-out pieces of furniture stood here and there. Photos of all members of the Weasley family were hung on the walls of places on chests of draws in photo frames. Also on the walls were a couple of newspaper clippings : when his family had come over during Rons and his school holidays after their second year, a couple of extracts about Charlie, and a couple about Bill. Well, he guessed they were about Bill, he couldn't actually read the language it was written in, but could recognize Bill on the moving photos.

"My moments of celebrity."

Harry turned around and looked at Bill, who was now soot-free.He was running his hand through his hair to redo his ponytail that his mother disliked while looking at Harry. "I managed to break several powerful curses that had kept the earlier curse-breakers at bay. It was somewhat of a challange to break through them. And I was the one that got through. Gringotts gave me a good bonus that time," he said with a grin. Taking his wand, he performed a small charm to get rid of the soot that he had gotten off him.

Harry shook himself free of the soot and performed the same charm as the one Bill had just done. He still had a bit of soot in his left ear lobe, but he quickly got rid of it.

"Right, I'll show you to your room, shall I ?" Bill exited the room, followed by Harry who was carrying his trunk behind him. Bill went down the corridor, and went up a flight of stairs, and entered a room with Harry following. Measuring 5 metres by 5, it was bigger than the room he had slept in at Charlies, but furnished in a similar way. A large bed stood against the far wall underneath the window, where a chest of draws was next to it, doubling up as a nightstand. Harry entered the room and dropped his trunk next to the chest of draws. Walking over to the window, he noticed it gave into what Harry supposed was the main street and not a back alley. Turning back from the window, he saw Bill looking at him.

"Todays Sunday, and you're to go back on Tuesday. So I thought that we would visit a couple of pyramids today, maybe even do some curse-breaking if you feel up to it, and leave all day tomorrow to visit the griffins. What do you think ?"

Harry gave Bill a genuine smile. "Sounds good. Although you might have to give me some pointers on curse-breaking. Sounds exciting, enough."

"No problem. Want to go now ?"

"Sure, no time like the present. Carpe diam."

"That's 'diem'."

"Same thing," Hary said, as they went back downstairs …

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Harry spent a wonderful end-of-morning and afternoon with Bill. They visited a well known pyramid, but did so when there were very few people so as not to attract attention. Harry got enough of that when he walked down the street, since he stood at leat a foot taller than most. After a delicious and very exotic (read : spicey-hot) meal for lunch, they visited 2 smaller and lesser-known pyramids. They weren't as touristic as the main temples, so Bill could explain about some of the curses that had been placed. Harry saw straight away that it was indeed fascinating, and understood why Bill enjoyed his job so much.

In the middle of the afternoon, after a crash-course on curse-breaking and teaching Harry the most common counter-curses that were used in Eygpt, they went to where a dig was currently being done. They went down, Bill greeting some of his fellow curse-breakers and introducing Harry, they got to a newly discovered part of the dig. There, Harry had his share of fame as some of the curses took him as their atrget. Thankfully, he was able to counter them, and the only one that passed didn't affect him thanks to his natural resistance. Bill took care of the most dangerous curses, and they had finished within an hour. Behind was a small chamber filled with jars full of ancient gold coins, amulets, and the like. Bill told him he could take a part, since he had helped with the dig. Harry choose 4 amulets which Bill said he would check for curses the following day, while Harry was visiting the griffins.

They left the dig content. Bill cooked them both a slap-up meal for dinner : fried sausages, eggs, tomatoes, mushroom and bacon, anything and everything unhealthy, but oh so tasty. The evening, they talked about everything, their respective quidditch experiences, Bills job and Harrys schooling. Harry also told Bill about his visit to the dragons and the dragon realm, but refrained from telling Bill about his castle, his name and his title. They went to bed at 11 o' clock, and Harry fell asleep to the light of themoon and to the sounds of the desert …

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Harry woke up bright and early on Monday morning to the smell of fried sausages. Getting up, he walked slowly downstairs. Following his nose, he made his way to the kitchen, where Bill was busily cooking.

"Morning all," Harry said, stifling a yawn.

"Ah, Harry, you're awake. Sausages and toast sound good to you ?" Bill said, his voice showing his was much more awake than Harry. Harry briefly thought that it should be illegal to be as awake as Bill at this time of the morning.

"Sounds fine, Bill, thanks." Harry yawned again, and came close to dislocating his jawbone. A few minutes and 4 sausages butties later, Harry was finally feeling awake. "So, what are you plans for today, Bill ?" Harry asked.

"Well, I've got to bring you to the Griffin enclosure. They aren't really kept closed in, but they're guarded to avoid muggles sighting them. After that, I'm going to check the amulets you dragged out of the dig, to make sure they aren't cursed. If they are, rest assured, I'll remove them. Except for the ones on yours. After that, it depends on how much time I've got left," Bill replied.

"And where is the griffin enclosure ?" Harry asked. Maybe he was also a member of griffin nobility, although, to be honest, the chances of that happening were slim to none, and Slim was out of town.

"It's to the south, several miles from the city, and far away from the pyramids and other possible touristic attractions. It's also under the protection of several anti-muggle charms, just in case. It's also been enchanted to appear as nothing more than desert if anybody flies overhead. It's pretty well protected." Harry nodded. It certainly seemed that way.

"And how did you manage to get permission to go and visit ?"

"I have a couple of friends that work there. They didn't have any problems when I asked if I could visit with another friend." This warmed Harrys heart, that Bill considered him as a friend. "So I told them we'd be along at about 10. That sound okay ?"

"What time is it now ?"

Bill looked at his wristwatch. "It's just pas 8."

"Yep, 10 o' clock sounds good. I'll just get dressed and take a look at my weapons. That makes me think : is there an Eygptian equivalent to Diagon Alley here ?"

"Yeah, I'll bring you there now if you want, since it's not far. And don't worry, you still use galleons, sickles and knuts just like anywhere alse. That's the advantage of wizarding currency, it's valid everywhere."

Harry quickly went back upstairs and got dressed. Coming back downstairs, he and Bill left the house and walked down the street. A couple of turns later before making one final turn down a small alley. At the end was a nondescript, wooden door. Pushing it open, it revealed a large street, hidden from the eyes of non-magic folk. It looked like a cross between what was in the Aladdin films and Diagon Alley. Stalls were opened in front of shops, with sellers calling out to sell their articles while the different shops prefered to display what was for sale.

"While it's safer to get what you want in the shops, you can sometimes make a killing if you spend enough time looking at the different stalls. They like to bargain, and if you find something interesting, it's usually worth the effort."

Harry walked down the street, giving brief glances at the different stalls and shops. But he was looking for books. A couple of stalls sold them, but Harry wanted books on magical runes and weapons, which must have been too specific a subject. Arriving at a book shop with several leather-bound volumes in the window, they entered. Walking amont the aisles, Harry found the correct subject. After a 10 minutes search, Harry stumbled upon a couple of interesting books : 'Historical Magical Weapons and their powers' by D. Blacksmith, 'Magical Runes and their meanings' by R. Unik, and 'So you want to break curses' by Kurth Breka. Harry bought all three and left the shop.

They returned to Bills house. Once they arrived, Harry started to read the book on magical runes, thinking the probability that his swords were in the book he had bought to be very small indeed, but that it was more likely the runes, or variations of, existed and were recorded. Bill started on the amulets, and had completely cleared one by the time they had to leave. They moved to the livingroom, and Bill took some floo powder, threw it into the fireplace, and stepped in, saying "Griffin enclosure" in a loud and clear voice. Harry followed suit, and soon found himself spinning by empty fireplaces before being thrown out of one.

"Ah, Harry, there you are." Harry opened his eyes to see Bill standing over him, holding out his hand to help Harry up Harry took the hand and got up. Shaking the soot off him, to took a good look around. He was in a small building, not too unlike the dragon relay stations, but made out of mud bricks and a layer of sand on the floor. One door, and the only window gave onto some sort of valley where Harry could spot a couple of griffins lazing in the shade of a overhanging rock. The only person in the room besides Bill and himself was a stern-looking man, about 30 years of age, with a dark, sun-beat skin, black hair and dark eyes. Bill walked up to him.

"State your name, occupation, and business," the man said with a voice that suited his face : stern and clipped, no nonsense tollerated.

"William Weasley, Gringotts curse-breaker, here to visit the griffins with Harry Potter."

The man looked down onto the piece of parchment that was in front of him. Afetr a few seconds, he looked up. "Very well, you may pass." Bill walked around the desk and exited the door, closing it behind him. Harry walked up to the desk.

"Harry Potter, student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, here to visit the griffins." The man once again looked down at the parchment. After a while, he looked up.

"Very well. You, too, may pass."

Harry gave a small nod and walked around the desk, exiting the building where he found Bill waiting for him.

"Went well ?" Bill asked.

"I'm here, aren't I ?" Harry answered with a grin. "But I don't understand. How does he know I wasn't lying or faking or using some sort of charm or potion ? I mean, I could say I was anybody and they wouldn't know …"

"Not true," Bill said as they started to walk towards the valley. "They have a number of revealing charms on the building, annuling any illusions thay you could have on. Plus, they have some truth spells, making you unconciously speak the truth.

"Then why does the English ministry rely so much on veritaserum ?"

"Because they have always done so, and it's hard to break the habit. Plus, they much prefer potions to spells, since it's easier to check if a potion is correctly brewed compared to checking if a spell has been correctly cast. They know of the spells, they just refure to use them. It's all politics, Harry," Bill explained as they walked.

Pretty soon, they arrived at another building, standing next to some sort of warehouse. They walked up to the door, and Bill knocked twice. It was opened by another dark-skinned man, but with a much kinder face.

"Bill !" he dried, shaking Bills hand with a lot of enthusiasm. "How are you ? It's about time you showed up …"

"Thanks Aziz. We did a spot of shopping before coming over."

"And who's the big guy behind you ?" he asked, looking at Harry.

"This, my friend, is Harry Potter."

"Get away from here. I've seen his photo in the papers, he looks nothing like Harry Potter." Aziz said.

Harry leaned forward. "I can assure you, I am Harry Potter. I wouldn't have been allowed in otherwise," Harry simply said. "I had a rather drastic growth spurt recently, that's all."

"Oh. Drastic is the word. Colossal is another word. Incredibly. Must have been painful …"

"It was very painful, actually."

"Anyway, Aziz," Bill cut in, "we're going down to see the griffins. I might have to leave Harry down there, in which case I'll come back here after."

"Alright, take your time. There's nothing big planned for today, so it's no trouble. It'll be good to catch up on the good times."

Bill nodded and started towards the valley, flanked by Harry. They didn't have to cross any barriers, since the griffins could fly over them anyway. They walked towards a big crag where they had seen several griffins lying in. As they walked, Hary was remembering everything that Charlie had taught him '_Griffins are very magical creatures. Not dangerous unless provoked of if they are defending themselves, their young or one of their kind. Can fly. …_' He continued repeating his lessons, over and over. Bill, meanwhile, kept silent, taking Harrys' silence for nervousness.

After a 20 minutes walk, they arrived at the crag. There were 5 adult griffins lying in the shade. As Bill and Harry approached, one stood up and walked to the limit of the shadow, observing the 2 as they approached. Harry had a familiar feeling, the same as when he had gone to visit the dragons. He could hear what seemed to be bribes of conversation between the griffins. This time, he didn't bother asking Bill if he heard anything, he knew the answer would be 'no'.

"_Who are the humans ?_" said one of the griffins at the back.

"_Don't know, they are not of those who usually come._" answered back the one who was standing. While he was standing towards them, his head was turned towards the 4 who were lying down. Harry decided to interrupt in the same way he had done with the dragons.

'_Can you understand me_' he thought, directing the question to the griffin that stood just in front of him. Instantly, the creatures head snapped around and looked Harry straight in the eye. The other 4 leapt up and started to walk to where they were. Bill took a step back, surprised by their reaction, but Harry kept his ground. The 4 advanced till they were standing shoulder to shoulder with the first griffin, about 3 meters away from where Harry was standing.

"_So, you speak Griffintongue, do you ?_" asked one of the griffins. They couldn't convey emotions through their voices, but Harry could understand their feelings through the rumblings that came from deep in their throats.

'_Yes. This is because one of my ancestors from a long time ago was a griffin …_'

"_WHAT ?!?!_" they all roared at the same time. Bill took another step back, placing his hands over his ears.

'_… and this griffin could turn into a human. She bore a child from one. And I am her last descendant._' Harry finished, fervently praying that they would believe what he was saying. The 5 griffins were watching him, looking straight into Harrys' eyes. '_If you prefer, I may assume my griffins form …_' he said. The griffin on the far right nodded, and Harry transformed into the magnificent griffin. The griffin on the far left took a step forward.

"_Our legends speak of such a griffin who could take a humans form. As it goes, it says that she left one day and travelled to many places, but returned after she had been gone several years. The legend does not speak of what she did during her self-imposed exile. When she returned, it was with great mourning. She died shortly afterwards._" The 4 other griffins hung their heads at these words.

'_Just a thought, but isn't it possible that she fell in love with a human and bore him a child, but that the human died and the child was removed from her …_' Harry suggested.

"_It is a possibility, but there are many possibilities. If we knew what had happened, it wouldn't be the stuff of legends. To be sure of your ancestory, we will bring you to our shaman. She will tell us of you ancestory._"

'_Very well. Let me just tell the person behind me._' The griffin nodded, and Harry returned to human form.

"Well, what did they say ?" Bill asked. He was now several meters further back compared to Harry.

"They said that they were going to bring me to their shaman to check for my ancestory. I don't know when I'll be back, so don't wait for me. Hopefully, it should be before nightfall."

"Right. I'll go see my friend Aziz, in the building. When you come back, knock on the door. I'll wait for you there."

Harry nodded while Bill made his way back. Turning to face the griffins once again, he resumed griffin form. The 2 griffins on the far left walked out of the shadow and turned. Stretching their wings, they took off, soon followed by Harry. Flying as a dragon had been an amazing experience, when they had flown at break-neck speeds through that tunnel. Flying as a griffin was much more gracefull, meant as a pleasure rather than a means to an end. The wind whistled through his feathers as he followed, and his mane whipped around in the wind. It was just as exhilarating, yet in a different way.

After flying for one hour at a relatively low altitude, they changed course and headed towards the cliffs that stood on each side of the valley. As they approached, Harry noticed a cave at the base of the cliff. If his sight hadn't been enhanced after his awakening, he would never have noticed the cave. They descended slowly, and finally made a graceful landing before the cave. Well, the 2 griffins did, Harry skidded for about 2 meters after landing and almost fell on his face. Mentally sighing, he figured he still need practice.

They folded their wings and entered the cave. Thanks to his cats eyes, he could see quite clearly. The cave was natural, time having carved it out of the rock. It stretched forward in a straight line. At the end, Harry could see a light, from what appeared to be a fire. He moved forward, following the others. Finally, they entered a cave where a fire was burning in the middle. It wasn't burning anything, but was instead floating above a circle of rocks. On the walls were strange drawings of symbols. Harry had no idea what they represented, what they were done out of or who had done them. Several plants grew out of crevices that ran along the walls. Harry vaguely recognized some as herbs they had learnt in herbology classes, but that was all.

Other than the entrance they hade come from, there was only one other exit, on the other side of the cave. Harry was vaguely aware of the sound of padded paws coming their way. The 2 griffins stood silently, waiting, barely breathing the dusty air that lingered. Soon, another griffin entered the cave. She was, by Harrys estimation, much older, and seemed to radiate wisdom and calm. On her face were some marks, as if painted on. Her mane had the same sandy-red colour of the other griffins, but had streaks of grey, blood-red and black in it also. T was her eye, however, that were the most outsdanding. One of her eyes had a deep purple iris, while the other eye was pure white, no iris ou pupil whatsoever. She (Harry didn't know how he knew it was a she) walked slowly over, skirting by the fire, and stopped just in front of Harry. Her eyes locked onto his, and didn't let go. He couldn't have looked away, even if he had wanted to. Her eyes just seemed to delve deep into his mind, much like the dragon kings had, and not too unlike Dumbledores gaze.

"**_Well, well. A human with mixed origins, coming back to his roots. Interesting. You are mainly human, part griffin and … part dragon. Interesting …_**" Harry mentally gasped. How could she see this ? "**_My eye. It reveals secrets that none can hide._**" Could she read minds ? "**_Yes, I can, but only if I am willing._**"

This was a lot to take in. If she knew all this, could she reveal something about his ancestor ?

"**_You are very impatient to learn about your past. Very well, it will be revealed to you …_**" She looked at the 2 accompanying griffins, who bowed and left the room, leaving Harry alone with the shaman. "**_Come, stand in front of the fire._**" Harry obeyed. He looked deep into the fire, half expecting the fire to start spouting out the anwsers. He wasn't prepared for what followed.

The shaman raked her claws through Harrys shoulder. Evidently, his skin wasn't as solid as in dragons form, or her claws were extremely sharp. He spun around to see her, his blood covering the claws on her right paw. '_What on earth did she do that for ?_' Harry thought as he bared his teeth. She, however, paid no attention. She walked slowly towards the fire, the blood leaving stains on the sandy floor. Harry continued to be very wary of her, not daring to take her eyes off her. When she stood in front of the fire, she stopped and stuck her paw straight into the heart of the fire.

But she wasn't in pain. The fire didn't take on her fur, nor did she seem bothered by the heat. Instead, the blood on her claws, his blood, burned green, then purple, before being completely consumed. Harry had stopped looking at her, and was no looking into the fire. His hind leg, where she had scratched him, no longer hurt, but he was too intently looking at the fire to notice.

Pictures started to appear. Fuzzy at first as the pictures flashed by, leaving Harry no time to guess what they were, it finally stopped on one picture that suddenly came into sharp focus. It was a picture of a human standing behind a griffin. In griffin form, she had markings on her face, much like the shaman. Harry wondered briefly if it was connected before the picture shifted, showing a slide show of humans, both men and women. The picture slowed down for some, while passing so quickly for others that Harry barely had the time to see the face of the person.

The slide show finally stopped on a person Harry recognized : Godric Gryffindor. Standing upright, clad in armour and wearing a long, flowing gold and scarlet cape, he certainly looked more impressive compared to the paintings at Hogwarts. It was then that Harry understood : the flames were giving Harry his family tree, descending from the griffin. The picture shifted and continued. Harry stared fixedly, trying to impregnate his memory with every face that appeared.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pictures slowed down. It showed his father, James Potter, just as Harry knew him from the many photos he had seen. He stood tall and proud, his hair sticking all over the place and his glasses firmly set ont he bridge of his nose. In his hand he held his wand. Harry remembered what mr Olivander had said concerning that wand : '_Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration._' The picture shifted to what Harry guessed was going to be the last picture : himself. In the lead stood a human, tall, proud and strong. Behing it stood a griffin, magestic, and lastly stood a dragon, a hungarian horntail, powerful, yet noble. 

The picture started to fade. As soon as it had completely dissappeared, Harry turned to look at the shaman. "**_You descend from a powerful line of shamans, young one. The markings you saw are the markings of a shaman. You do not have these markings, since you have not yet arrived at the height of your power, which is when a shaman recieves his markings. Fear not, they will only be visible in griffin form. When the time arrives, you will learn the rituals. I do not know how you will, for if differs from one shaman to the next, as do the powers and abilities they recieve. However, the most important thing you need now, is a name._**"

'_A name ? that's what's the most important : my name ?_'

"**_Yes. You may have you human and dragon names, but not you griffin name. Let me think … StrongSight. And don't forget that you are a shaman. You are Shaman StrongSight._**"

'_And, how do you write that ?_'

"**_You know, even if you don't realize that you know. The knowledge is there, locked away deep inside you …_**"

'_And when will I become of power ?_'

"**_It is impossible to say. It arrives after a certain event that differs from one shaman to the next. It can come at any time, and moment, any place._**"

Harry pondered her words. He was so deep in thought that he didn't realize that she had left the cave. When he came to several minutes later, he decided the only thing to do was leave. Upon exiting the cave, he saw that the sun had advanced a fair bit in the sky, leaving probably about 3 or 4 hours of sunlight left. The 2 griffins, which Harry supposed had been patiently waiting at the caves entrance, looked at Harry, and wordlessly took flight, followed by Harry. They arrived back at the crag, where the 2 griffins returned under. Harry continued to fly for a little bit till he came into sight of the building where Bill would be waiting for him. He landed, resumed human form, and walked the rest of the way. When he arrived, he knocked. It was Aziz that opened. He called inside :

"Hey Bill, your friends back."

Harry heard the scraping of wood on wood before Bill appeared in the doorway.

"Thanks Aziz. You all right Harry ?" Harry just nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a lot of things to think about."

"You want something to eat or drink before we go ?"

"No thanks."

Bill thakned Aziz for his company before they went on their way. They were silent the whole trip back, Harry still pondering on everything he had seen, not only with the griffins but also with the dragons. It was 

almost too much to take in.

They flooed back to Bills. Bill started to cook dinner, leaving Harry to ponder everything Taking a piece of parchment, he started to write what the shaman had told him. When it came to writing his name, however, it didn't look anything like English. He realized that he must have written it in griffins runes. He scrapped the paper and took a fresh piece, writting just his name. The exact same thing happened. He went back downstairs where Bill had just finished cooking the meal.

"Hey Bill, any tatoo parlors around here ?"

"Err, yeah, there are a couple. I know a place, good quality work but not very cheap. What did you have in mind ?"

"I'll give you 3 guesses, and the first 2 don't count" Harry said with a grin.

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After their meal, Bill brought Harry to have his tatoo done. It was nothing other than a griffin. It mirrored the position of the dragon tatoo on his left arm, the tail starting on Harrys' right shoulder, and finishing with the head on his right forearm, just past the elbow. On his forearm stood his title and name, in the runes he had written earlier on (in Griffonic runes). He was very pleased with the result, and couldn't wait to show Ron his tatoos.

Harry slept well that night, very peacefully, like a child that had just been reasssured. After all, he had now seen his family tree on both his mothers and fathers side. He had recognized some names, learnt others. He had spoken with the memory of his mother and other more distant relatives. Life was good.

The next morning, Bill gave Harry back the 4 amulets Harry had chosen from the dig. He had checked them for curses and the like, and was sure they were clean. After a big breakfast, they spent the morning just walking around, whether in the muggle or magical part of town. Harry bought a few souveniers for his friends, and before he knew it, it was time to leave They went back to Bills place, and Harry finished packing everything away in his trunk, shrunk it and placing it in his pocket. He stuck the dragons weapons in his pocket, and joined Bill in the fireplace.

"Well, it was nice having you over," Bill said.

"Thanks for arranging the meeting. It meant a lot." Harry said in all earnest.

"Don't mention it. We should do it again some day. If you ever want to come over, just send an owl."

"Thanks for the offer. Well, I best be off." With that, Harry took some floo powder from the pot over the chimney, threw it into the burning flames and stepped in, shouting "Hogwarts Headmasters Office" before dissappearing in a whoosh of green flames …

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	11. Chapter 11 : Return to Hogwarts and a Ne...

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. 

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read it. There are also those who take the additionnal time to leave a review. I don't think I've had as many reviews in one go as I have had for chapter 10. Thanks to them :** Phoenix of Light, john (**There might be romance, but not a Harry/Ginny ship, I'm afraid. There are already so many well-written Harry/Ginny stories out there that are worth reading.**), fallendruid (**He won't know until he tries, will he ;) **), shdurrani, Net4, Corrie (**For me, it's James that descends from the Griffin. The Potters were known as being a long-lasting pureblood family, and to a select few as being descendants of Godric Gryffindor, whose name goes with the animal he descends from. That's the idea for this story anyways.**), brion, blackunicorn, Fair Lady Ravenclaw (**see next paragraph**), (blank), angelangie, griffin (**for your first 2 questions, see next paragraph. As to the third, who knows. I consider that they get their powers when a certain situation arises, and the situation is different according to the being/erson/creature. So it could be anytime.**), Xirleb70, Animagiman (**next chapter could be out in about a weeks time**), wqahq, chochang913 (**I did a search on www.behindthename.com, for names with 'dragon' or 'battle' in them, with a slight preferance for Nordic names. A few names sounded good, so I used them. That's also how I got Albus Dumbledores middle names in my other story, 'Hikmat' meaning 'Wisdom' and 'Winfred' meaning 'friend of peace'.**), (blank) and Illustrious Sorrow.**

Concerning chapter 10, I forgot to precice that Harrys' second tatoo is indeed a GRIFFIN, and him griffin name is indeed written in GRIFONIC runes. I forgot to make the point clear on the first posting. Chapter 10 has therefore been corrected and updated. Thanks to** Fair Lady Ravenclaw and griffin **for having pointed it out.

As a final note, all comments, flames, words of encouragement, and anything else, are welcome. I'm glad too see many people are enjoying the story, which is basically the reason why I wrote it in the first place.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 11

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The next morning, Bill gave Harry back the 4 amulets Harry had chosen from the dig. He had checked them for curses and the like, and was sure they were clean. After a big breakfast, they spent the morning just walking around, whether in the muggle or magical part of town. Harry bought a few souveniers for his friends, and before he knew it, it was time to leave They went back to Bills place, and Harry finished packing everything away in his trunk, shrunk it and placing it in his pocket. He stuck the dragons weapons in his pocket, and joined Bill in the fireplace.

"Well, it was nice having you over," Bill said.

"Thanks for arranging the meeting. It meant a lot." Harry said in all earnest.

"Don't mention it. We should do it again some day. If you ever want to come over, just send an owl."

"Thanks for the offer. Well, I best be off." With that, Harry took some floo powder from the pot over the chimney, threw it into the burning flames and stepped in, shouting "Hogwarts Headmasters Office" before dissappearing in a whoosh of green flames …

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Harry managed to catch himself before he fell out of the fireplace that stood in Albus Dumbledores office. He stepped out, ducking his head to avoid painfully hitting the ledge.

"Ah, Harry. Good to see you well. You had a good trip ?"

Harry looked up to see Dumbledore smiling at him, his metallic box of lemon drops in his hand. Harry smiled as he brushed the soot of him. It wouldn't be very good if he shook himself of here, sending soot everywhere.

"It went very well professor, thank you," Harry answered, flicking the last speck of soot off his arm.

"And these tatoos, where did you get them from ?"

"Well, I got the dragon tatoo in Romania and the griffin one in Eygpt. Fascinating places, both of them."

"And the runes on your forearms ?" Dumbledore asked, offering Harry a sweet from the box. Harry took one and popped it in his mouth.

"That, I'm afraid, I will not tell you what it says."

"Not a problem. Sirius will be pleased to know that you're back. Do you want me to call him ?"

"No thanks. I'll find him."

"Very well, Harry. Bring your things back to your common room. The password hasn't changed since your departure, since there wasn't one to begin with. It will be set up as of next week." With a final nod, Harry left the office, leaving Dumbledore to finish whatever it was that he had been doing …

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The next couple of days went by smoothly. Sirius wasn't ecstatic that Harry had had the tatoos done, but finally warmed to the idea. Besides, he had to admit, they were both beautifully well done. He also admitted to having a dog tatoo on his right shoulder blade. He showed Harry. It looked just like the large shaggy dog that Sirius became when he took his animagus form.

The next day was spent with Remus and Sirius, with Harrys extra DADA lessons. Now that he was back, they wanted to continue the lessons. Harry wasn't against that, but thought that Sirius just wanted an excuse to curse him for getting the tatoos without his permission. Harry didn't cross any of the other teachers except at meal times. They would politely ask Harry if the trip had gone well, but no more, unlike Sirius who had asked for a step-by-step account of everything that had happened. They spend a couple of hours the afternoon dueling and learning some interesting duel and prank curses. But all work and no play makes Jack, or in this case Harry, a very dull boy. So they also flew for a couple of hours, using just the quaffle and bludgers. Harry got hit by a bludger he hadn't noticed, but didn't take any damage other than a very slight bruise.

The evening, Harry continued to read the books he had gotten from Eygpt. He thought of asking Dumbledore about going to Diagon Alley to get a few more books. That reminded him of his wish to drop Divination for Ancient Runes. He would talk to Dumbledore about it tomorrow …

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The next day started off bright and sunny. Harry got up relatively early, at about eight o' clock, dressed, and went down to the great hall for some breakfast. Once he was there, he saw Sirius (who was glaring at Snape), Remus, Minerva, Snape (who was glaring at Sirius) and Dumbledore. After the 'Good morning,'s and 'sleep well ?'s, Harry sat down and started to fill his plate with food. He spoke for a bit with Sirius, asking him what _HE_ had done during Harrys' absence, the minor mission he had undertaken for Dumbledore.

Once breakfast was over, he went over to Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore ?"

"Yes Harry, what could I do for you ?"

"I wanted to ask if it was possible to drop Divination for the study of Ancient Runes ?"

"So late in the course, Harry ?" Harry nodded. "Well, it should be possible, if you feel capable of catching up 2 years work in what's left of the summer holidays, it should pose no problem. You will have to get a couple of extra books …"

"I could go to Diagon Alley this morning professor. Sirius could accompany me, if necessary," he said with a hopefull look on his face.

"Very well Harry. Be back for lunch, that's all I ask."

"Very well, headmaster. Thank you …" He turned around to Sirius. "Can we meet in fifteen minutes outside the stone gargoyle ? I need to get into some robes …" Sirius nodded, and Harry rushed to the Gryffindor common room to change before heading towards the headmasters office.

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Harry had a good time in Diagon Alley. He always did. It was one of the places he felt completely at home. Of course, Harry belonged in the wizarding world. It felt right. Harry walked down the street, attracting a few stares from the others, but not too many since it was relatively common to see the odd strange person around. After all, hags and half-giants also came. So what was one 2-meter tall person so strange.

Harry went straight to Flourish and Blotts. He crossed several classmates of his, none of whom recognized him till he said who he was. Neville looked almost scared of him, while the Parvati twins blushed crimson. Once inside the bookstore, he went straight for the 'Language' section, where he found several books on ancient runes. He took 2 beginners books, plus some more advanced. After paying, he went to the ice cream parlor where he enjoyed an ice-cream sundae and Sirius some chocolate ice-cream. He didn't see either Ron or Hermione, but guessed this was because they had already come to get their surplies, would come by soon. Passing 'Quidditch Quality Supplies', he saw a new broom that hadn't been there on his last visit a few days ago. It was the 'MoonClimber', apparently as quick as the firebolt but more reliable.

Just before lunch, Harry went back to Hogwarts. Bringing his books back to his dorm, he went down to lunch, where he saw professors Mcgonagall and Dumbledore.

"Ah, Harry. Your morning went well ?"

"Very well, professor, thank you," harry said, sitting down.

"Now, Harry, there was something I wanted to discuss with you. Today, if you remember, we will be recieving the new student from Canada. She will be arriving on the Hogwarts Express. The train arrives at 6 o' clock. With the carriage ride, she should arrive at the main entrance at about ten past six. Would you be able to greet her and bring her up to my office. The password is, as you know, 'chocolate frogs'. I am quite fond of them, after all. Anyway, her name is Sarah Winslow. She is around your age. Will it be a problem ?"

"Not at all, professor." Harry said between bites.

"Good. Thank you, Harry."

The rest of the meal passed pleasently by, with idle chit-chat between everyone present. After lunch, Harry decided to get ahead in his Ancient Runes, and started to read from the beginners books. He learned from Dumbledore the ciricculum, and started on the first runes learnt. He advanced quickly, however, and soon had no trouble with it whatsoever. He moved on, and by half past five, he mastered the first 3 runes in the school curicculum.

He noticed that it was almost time for him to go and greet the new student. Getting up, he went into his dorm and removed his robes. He found it much more comfortable in just normal jeans and sleeveless t-shirt, since the day was quite warm. He found robes to be slightly constrictive, prefering more freedom of mouvement.

Heading slowly down, he arrived in front of the main entrance at fives minutes to six. The air was warm, so he didn't mind having to wait. He sat down on the steps, thinking about the different events that had taken place during his holidays : the extra training, the transformation, whether volontary or no, visiting the dragons, visiting the griffins, … It was a lot to take in.

Time moved slowly forward as Harry continued to ponder the different events. He was eventually brought out of his thoughts by the noise of a carriage. Looking up, he saw one of the schools horseless carriages heading towards him. Since it was head on, he couldn't see who was inside it but there was no doubt that it was the new student. He just wanted to get a glimpse before having to talk to her. Standing up, he prepared himself to greet her. He was actually quite nervous, and he hadn't even seen her yet.

The carriage arrived and stopped. The door opened. Out stepped a tall, beautiful girl. No, young woman, Harry corrected himself. She looked to be only slightly shorter than Sirius (who stood at 6 foot (1m82) tall). She had wavy-blond hair that cascaded to the middle of her back, ocean-blue eyes, and a tanned complexion. She had a number of small scars on the left of her neck, that went down into her shirt. She was dressed in a tight pair of jeans that hung to her (curvy-in-all-the-right-places) figure and a plain white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, contrasting sharply with her tan. Seeing Harry, she smiled, making Harrys nervousness fly away. Stepping forward, he held out his hand.

"Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts."

"Hello," she said. Her voice wasn't very high-pitched, but was rather husky and warm, and without the Canadian accent Harry was expecting. She shook Harrys hand rather firmly.

"Do you have any luggage ?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, my trunk's in the carriage. Could you help me, it's rather heavy …" she said while she gave a brief glance at Harrys' arms, but not oogling. Harry stepped forward, grabbed the (battered) trunks handles, and pulled the trunk out of the carriage. She wasn't kidding when she said it was heavy. It made him wonder how she got it here in the first place.

Hauling the trunk onto his shoulder, he said, "the headmaster asked me to bring you to his office. If you would follow me …" With that, he started off, with Sarah following.

"Are you a teacher ?" she asked. Harry stumbled, catching himself just before he fell over. Turning around to look at her with wide eyes, he starts to laugh. "Erm, are you okay ?" she asks, rather nervous. She only just arrived and she already made someone go into hysterics.

"Yeah, I'm fine. No, I'm not a teacher," Harry said with a broad smile, continued to make his way towards Dumbledores office.

"Gameskeeper ?" Harry shook his head. "You can't be a student …"

"Why not ?" he asked, as they continued on their way.

"Because, well, becasue you're too big," she said.

"Sorry to proove you wrong, but I'm only a fifth year student," he said with a grin. Said grin broadened as he saw her eyes widen.

"You're only a fifth year ? Are they all like you ?"

"Nope, I'm the only one. But I'm not like the others …"

"Oh, I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Sarah Winslow."

"Harry Potter."

"You're pulling my leg. You look nothing like Harry Potter," she said.

"Sorry again, but I am, truly, Harry Potter. I had something of a growth spurt during the holidays."

"No kidding. What did you do, take engorgement charms everyday ?" she said. Harry could tell just by talking to her that he liked her.

"I wish, it would have been less painful," he joked back. They continued their small talk as they made their way to Dumbledores office. Harry thought about Sarah. First, despite being from Canada, she didn't have any accent. She had the scars on her neck, and hadn't had any magical teaching from any school. And there was something else : she smelt differently. Not the 'I-haven't-washed-for-a-month' smell, but she smelled like … like … Remus Lupin. The pieces fell into place. She was a werewolf. That explained it all. It also explained why she had been able to bring such a heavy trunk, it was thanks to her enhanced strength. '_Well …_', Harry decided '_…werewolf or not, it doesn't change a thing. I'll do the most I can to make her feel welcome. After all, I'm not entirely human myself …_'

Once they arrived at the stone gargoyle, Harry gave the password and it moved asside. Harry lead the way up the circular stairs, knocked on the door, and entered. Dumbledor was there, seated behind his desk reading some papers.

"Ah, Harry, good, good, right on time." Standing up, he beckonned them both in. Harry put her trunk next to the door, rubbing his shoulder where it was been. Dumbledore indicated the 2 seats and invited them both to be seated. "Sarah, how are you since I came over to see you ?"

"I'm fine, thank you. And thank you again for giving the opportunity to come over."

"It's nothing child. You could say it's my duty. Now, I believe Harry here has talked to you a bit about the school." They nodded. It had been one of the many points they had spoken about on the way up : the houses, the teachers, and the lessons. "Now, you will be placed in the fifth year. I thought you would be placed in the sixth year, but I made a mistake when taking note of your date of birth. You will have to choose which additionnal courses you will be taking."

"Well, back in Canada, I was good with animals. So, Care of Magical Creatures. Erm, what other courses are there ?"

It was Harry that answered. "There's Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, Divination, and Ancient Runes. I used to have Divination, but the way the teacher teaches it …" he was about to continue when he noticed that Dumbleodre had covered his ears and was humming. "Well, let's just say I dropped it and will be starting Ancient Runes," he finished. Dumbledore stopped humming and took his hands off his ears.

"And I think I'll take Ancient Runes," she said, smiling.

"Very well. Now, normally students are sorted during the great feast which takes place beginning of september. But if you would prefer, we could have it here …" She started to nod, so Dumbledore stood and removed the hat from its stand. Making his way around the table, he dropped it onto her head. After 2 minutes, the rim opened and the hat called "GRYFFINDOR !". Harry released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

"Yes, yes, good, good. The best choice for you, I must agree. And seeing Harrys reaction, it would seem he agrees also." Harry blushed slightly at this, and Sarah gave him a small smile. Now, Harry, could you give miss Winslow a tour of the castle. We will arange for her school supplies during dinner."

Harry nodded and turned to Sarah, who was looking at Harry. "Come on, I'll show you around." He got up and walked to the door, picked up her trunk and placing it on his shoulder before leaving the office, followed by Sarah. Dumbledore just watched them leave with a smile on his face …

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Harry had a great time just showing Sarah around. They spent the entire time talking as Harry showed her where the common room was (depositing her trunk in the fifth-year girls dorms), where the classrooms were, the greenhouses, the great hall, and the quidditch pitch. She said she flew some, but didn't have her own broom. Harry said he would arrange for them to have access to the shed, so that they could at least fly about in their free time. They also learnt a lot about each other, and found that they had quite a lot in common.

At dinner time, Harry asked Sarah to led the way to the great hall, which she managed. The only people there other than themselves were Remus, Sirius, Mcgonagall and Dumbledore. Harry suposed that not many teachers stayed at Hogwarts during the holidays.

"Harry, Sarah, please join us," Dumbledore called as they entered the hall. When they reached the head table, Dumbledore continued, "Sarah, this is professor Mcgonagall. She is your head of house, and teaches Transfiguration. On this side are Remus and Sirius, friends of Harry." Harry smiled at them. Remus smiled back, while Sirius gave him a wink while his eyes flicked from Harry to Sarah and back. Harry just rolled his eyes at this.

They both sat down and started to et. They both heaped large quantities of food on their plates and started to eat through the whole lot. Minerva was quite surprised at Sarah. Harry was quite amused that she could actually be bigger than most of the boys in her year.

"Now, Sarah, you will have to go to Diagon Alley to get your supplies." She nodded, since her mouth was full. Harry had told her all about Diagon Alley, the many different shops that were there. She was looking forward to going. "Do you think it will be okay to go with Harry ?" She gave this some thought before nodding again, since her mouth was still full. "good, that's settled then. I will give you the list of books and other equipement you will need tomorrow morning before you leave."

The meal passed calmly by. Harry spoke with Sirius, while Remus shared some whispered words with Sarah. Once the meal was finished, Remus, Sirius, Harry and Sarah made their way to the gryffindor common room. Sarah excused herself, saying that she was tired out from the journey and wanted to go to bed. The 3 others bade her good night as she went up the stairs leading to the girls dorms. Once she was in her room, the 3 males sat down in front of the fire and talked for an hour. Sirius kept making remarks along the lines of 'You fancy her, don't you Harry ?' while Harry tried to stay neutral. Sirius tired out, and said he was going to bed. Since the dorms were empty, he was sleeping with Harry and Remus in the fifth-year boys dorm. He bid them good night and went upstairs, leaving Harry and Remus alone before the fire. Harry looked silently into the fire, while Remus studied Harrys face.

"Come on Harry, out with it. There's something you want to ask. I can sense it."

Harry looked over, and nodded. "She's a werewolf, isn't she ?" he asked. Remus sighed, and nodded. "I thought so."

"How did you guess ?" Remus asked.

"Several hints that Dumbledore dropped, such as her lack of formal education. Add that with her lacking a Canadian accent, the scars on her neck, and the fact she smells like you, it all adds up," Harry said, as matter-of-factly as possible. Remus looked at him.

"Her … her _smell_ ?"

Harry nodded. Both you and her share some sort of canine smell. Don't worry, no one else will smell it. I can barely smell it, and I've got heightened senses, remember, on my dads side." Remus nodded. "The question now is : how do I help her without her becoming suspicious ?" Harry asked, still looking into the fire.

"For a start, don't confront her about it. Wait for her to tell you. If you ask her outright, it's likely she'll shy away, even if you say you've got good intentions. Second, don't try and be sneeky about helping her, especially if you intend to help her financially. I don't think she'll appreciate it, from the talks I've had with her. Just be her friend. And be yourself, Harry. You have inherited your mothers compassion, Harry. Let it shine through, don't force it through." Harry nodded. Remus' words made sense.

"I'm tired. I'll see you tomorow ?"

"Of course, Harry. I'll stay down a few more minutes, but I'll be up shortly. Good night, Harry."

"Night Remus," he said as he walked up the stairs, leaving Remus alone looking into the flames of the fire …

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The following morning, Harry got up quite late, at around 9 o' clock. He was the only one still asleep, since both Sirius' and Remus' beds were empty. He got up, dressed, and went down into the common room. It was empty, except for one person sitting in an easy chair in front of the fire.

"Sarah ?"

She jumped slightly and looked around. Seeing it was Harry, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Good morning Harry. Sleep well ?"

"Yes, thanks, yourself ?"

She nodded with a big smile on her face. "It's the first time I've slept in a four-poster bed. It's quite impressive. The whole castle is really," she said, her excitement clear.

"Yeah, it was like that when I first arrived. A scrawny little boy."

"It's hard to imagine you were ever small and scrawny …"

"I've got the photos to proove it. But first things first : breakfast."

She nodded enthusiastically. "I didn't want to go down alone. I was afraid of getting lost, especially since there aren't many people around to help."

"There's always the ghosts, they never leave. Took me a week before I made my way down from here to the great hall without getting lost. We were actually quite proud of that achievement," Harry said, remembering the day." Anyway, let's get going. The sooner we've finished, the sooner we can go to Diagon Alley."

She nodded, although with slightly less enthusiasm compared to yesterday. Harry wondered why, but didn't let it show as they walked down …

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After breakfast, they flooed from the headmasters office to the Leaky Cauldron. Tom, who had finally recognized Harry, greeted them both as they left through the back entrance. Sarah was amazed at the moving wall, and just gazed open mouthed at the road that stretched before her. Harry wondered how long she would have stayed like that if he hadn't brought her out of her _rêverie_. She had some Canadian muggle money as well as wizarding currency, and she wanted to change her Canadian into Galleons, sickles and knuts. After making sure she would be okay to change her money, Harry went down to his vault to get a bit of money, in case there was something he wanted to buy, and to have some money for their trips to Hogsmead. Coming out of Gringotts, he saw her waiting for him.

"Okay Sarah, ready to rumble ?"

"Yeah, I was just looking at everything. It's really amazing here."

"Yeah, it is. What do you want to start with ?"

So off they went. They first had to go to the Apothecary to buy some of the supplies for that years potions. Next came Flourish and Blotts. Harry noticed she bought her books second hand, except for the newer books that wouldn't be in the second-hand section. She also needed some school robes, since she was still wearing muggle clothes. Harry managed to buy for her some light-blue dress robes, saying it was a welcoming present so that she couldn't refuse. She already had a wand, so there was no need for her to buy another one. Harry wanted to get a Wand Maintenance kit, so they braved Olivanders for one. Last came the animals.

"Do you have an owl ?" Harry asked.

"No, unfortunately. I wish I did."

"Come on then, let me buy you one."

"No. You already got me the dress robes. I don't want charity." She said rather firmly and started to walk away. Harry grabbed her arm.

"Let me tell you a story." She stopped and turned around, before giving a small nod. "I didn't know I was a wizard when I was a kid. The muggle family I was living with hated magic with a passion, and hoped that by not mentionning it, I would lose it. On the day of my eleventh birthday, I was visited by Hagrid, who I later learnt was the gameskeeper at Hogwarts. He explained to me about my parents and all the wizarding world. He brought me here that day. I can remember it, I was trying to look everywhere at the same time." Sarah chuckled at this." Anyway, after I had bought everything that was on the school list, he gave me my first ever birthday present : an owl."

"And what does that have to do with anything ?"

"They say the best way to give thanks for a gift is to do likewise. He bought me an owl. I want to buy you an owl," Harry explained. He looked into her eyes, and slowly, she nodded. Harry gave a sigh of relief and they went into the shop. They emerged 10 minutes later carrying a magnificent hawk-owl that Sarah named "Rogue".

With that taken care of, they had an ice cream before heading back to Hogwarts with all of Sarahs' school belongings and the owl through the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron, heading towards Dumbledores office at great speeds …

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	12. Chapter 12 : The End of the Holidays

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. 

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read it. There are also those who take the additionnal time to leave a review. Thanks to them :** BlackDragon, Ksai (**1) it's not because there's a new famale character that she's automatically a Mary Sue ; 2) Harry IS exceptionnal, but he isn't the only person to be so**), Animagiman (**Avoiding a Mary Sue was, is, and will be my intention, but thanks for bringing the point up**), Sorry Ain't Good Enough, syd (**more info will come as the story moves on**), Immotalis_Vespers, Matt, hp111, DaBear, (blank), fares, wquad, sew2100, Forgotton Loss (**thanks for the idea**), jay (**Now that school is back, there will be more of Ron, Hermione, and all the other characters**), kai, Andreas Stefen, john (**No, she does not have any dark secret such as being Harrys' long lost sister or Voldemorts cousin 4-times removes, she's just another characters that came from the depths of my imagination. She won't be a main character, not at the beginning, at any rate. Afterwards, I'll just have to see how the story progresses**), Jpalmgren (**Good points. 1) Harry manages to block of most of the sound, although very stong sounds/smells/etc can still get through ; 2) you'll just have to wait until he gets into a sticky situation, won't you ;) **), (blank) (**I'll try**), Rebecca Cecile, (blank) (**she won't be as powerful, but don't forget that werewolves are stronger physically, and don't have too much trouble with curses, hexes, and the like**), crab, Fawkes, Javier, Tamra, Corrie, MasterOmega, Liedral (**no pairings have been decided yet**), Erinamation-limited2-nothing, Fair Lady Ravenclaw (**she's related to no one in the original 4 books**), Neo Kitty, hehehe, Illustrious Sorrow, AllieSkittlez (**twice ;)** ), Nkari, chochang913 (**twice :D**), BloodRedSword (**just what I like, a man of few words, direct and straight to the point ;) Thanks**), shdurrani, Green Eyes Knight (**I noticed you weren't a big fan of Rons. I don't mind him usually, he's just a bit too tempermental**), JUDGEMENT (**first, thanks for your review. Second : your story ROCKS**), Fire-Mage, Anonymous (**Thanks for your opinion. The absence of an accent will be explained**), Lily, Kyntor, AG (**thanks for the advice**), Sarah of a dragon, tikbalang, Thelvyn, David M. Potter, and finally Lu (**a lot of points raised, all of which will be analysed by yours truly, so that many exotic excuses can be made for any mistakes I make ;) Kidding. More will be revealed as the story moves on.**).** A heartfelt thanks to everyone, whether positive or negative.

**A point concerning the OC** : Mary Sue, erm, sorry, I mean Sarah Winslow. She will stay. She is in no way related to : Harry, the Marauders, Voldemort, Dumbledore, Hermione Granger, the Weasley family, minister Fudge, Neville Longbottom, or any obscure character of the universe of Harry Potter whose name only appears once. She does not have any dark secret (other than being a werewolf). She does not have a secret power or ability that could wreak havoc on a worldwide scale. She is NOT perfect. She does not have an IQ of 200. She does not speak 10 different languages (although being from Canada, it's likely she speaks both French and English). She is a **ORIGINAL CHARACTER**. Her appearance is closely based on somebody I know personally (save for the scars, since I didn't want her too perfect). To those who think she will take over, SHE WILL NOT. Will her name appear again. Yes ! Just lake any other characters. More often. Maybe. After all, Harry made a promise to himself concerning her well-being. Will she partake on on of Harrys' adventures. Maybe. I haven't decided that yet. I will just have to see. Her dealings with the rest of the school and the teachers will be dealt with. And trust me, everything will not go smoothly. If I introduced an original character to the story, it's in case I have writters block : something can happen to the original character (that's not the real reason : it's because you can do what you want with them, and they can provide a unique view of things). So far, no pairings have been thought about, for any of the characters. And her past will be revealed as the srory goes along. I hope this answers diferent questions, worries, or remarks made about her.

As a final note, all comments, flames, words of encouragement, and anything else, are welcome. I'm glad too see many people are enjoying the story, which is basically the reason why I wrote it in the first place. 

The next chapter should be out between one and two weeks. I've just started my exams, and will be spending more time studying. Hopefully, I should still manage to get chapters out, fear not.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 12

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"They say the best way to give thanks for a gift is to do likewise. He bought me an owl. I want to buy you an owl," Harry explained. He looked into her eyes, and slowly, she nodded. Harry gave a sigh of relief and they went into the shop. They emerged 10 minutes later carrying a magnificent hawk-owl that Sarah named "Rogue". She didn't explain why, and Harry didn't prod.

With that taken care of, they had an ice cream before heading back to Hogwarts with all of Sarahs' school belongings and the owl through the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron, heading towards Dumbledores office at great speeds …

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They arrived back at the school in time for lunch. They were both hungry after the mornings shopping, despite having eaten a more than substantial breakfast, both of them. More teachers had arrived, since there was only one week left before lessons started. They had to make sure everything was ready.

Harry and Sarah brought all her supplies up to her dorms and released Rogue to fly around a bit. Harry had shown her the way to the owlry, so she knew where to find him. She said she would send an owl to her friends and family in Canada, although Harry wondered if an overseas trip for a first postal service was maybe a little bit too much. During lunch, Dumbledore had a request for Harry …

"Harry, since the school year is going to start, you will have to bring her up to date. Would you mind testing her to make sure she's up to the level required of the school. If you need any help, I'm sure the teachers would be glad to be of service …"

Harry looked at Sarah, who just shrugged. "No sir, I don't mind at all."

"Excellent. Would you be able to start this afternoon ?"

"Of course, sir. Oh, would it be possible to give Sarah and I access to the broom shed, so that we can fly around a bit."

"Of course." When Harry had played with Sirius, it was Sirius who had the password, and had refused to give it to Harry just to annoy him. However, not all those present knew yet of Sirius' innocence, so it wouldn't be wise to speak his name now. "The password for the Gryffindor broomshed is 'silver snitch', but it is likely that it will be changed once the new Gryffindor captain is voted for. And come with me after breakfast, so that I can give you the list of requirements for the first- to forth-years, so that you can test Sarah, and teach her if necessary."

"Very well, sir." With That, Harry sat back down and continued to talk to Sarah, who asked several questions about the different lessons and what had been taught the previous years. Harry told her some of the things he remembered, and they also talked about their Ancient Runes classes, which they would be starting.

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After having recieved the list of requirements, Harry started to test Sarah for Charms. She had no trouble with the first 3 years, knowing and being able to perform faultlessly every single spell that was on the list. Forth year, however, wasn't as good. She didn't know several of the spells that were on the list, but this didn't pose much of a problem since she learnt quite quickly. By the end of the morning, she was able to do all the spells that were required of her, but since she hadn't done all the assignments, she lacked a solid knowledge of the theory behind the spells..

After a hearty lunch, they started on transfiguration. It's known that transfiguration is considered the hardest branch of magic, which is one of the reasons so few people become animagi. Many people seem to have difficulties in this particular branch, and Sarah was no exception. She wasn't rubbish. But she wasn't all that good either. She was just average. She had no trouble with basic transfiguration, which basically meant years one to three, but had a bit of trouble of forth-year assignments. Harry just noted that she was average.

After dinner, Harry wrote to Ron and Hermione, explaining most of the things he had seen, but leaving out several details. Sarah, who was reading a book, asked him what he was doing. He explained about his friends and their families, and told her some of the adventures they had had together : the Sorcerers Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, and the tri-wizard tournament, although he didn't say what happened during the third task, the events were still too painful. Harry also explained about Sirius, that he had been framed for a crime he hadn't commited. She was surprised that he could walk about here, in relative freeness, and Harry said that most of the teachers knew of his innocence, but that once the students would be back he would have to hide or could only walk about in disguise. Plus the fact that Sirius changed into his dog form whenever a teacher passed, just in case that particular teacher didn't know the truth.

At around midnight, after they had gone to the owlry so that Harry could send the 2 letters, they went to the observatory to review their astronomy. It hadn't been Harrys' best subject, but he didn't do too badly. He couldn't deny, however, that it was indeed a beautiful sight when you could look up at the stars, on a night when the sky was clear of clouds and artifical light, and you could just lose yourself watching the small stars twinkle up above. However, tonight, he was playing teacher, although Sarah prooved to be better than him. She could easily spots stars and constellations. She told Harry she liked sleeping outdoors, and that she would look up at the stars before going to sleep. Once that was over, they went back down and went to bed …

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Saturday had been their first day of testing. It went on till Monday, since Harry reasonned the sooner they were done with testing, the sooner they could have fun and relaxed. Sarah agreed, althought Harry suspected she was more interested in reading than anything else. Whenever she had some free time, she could often be seen with her nose in some book. A school book more often than not. Harry wondered if she would be another bookworm like Hermione. She wasn't antisocial, just more distant.

Harry, too, had some reading to catch up on. He still hadn't finished catching up for ancient runes, but wasn't far. According to the list of runes that were on the paper Dumbledore had given him, he had finished the first year and a half of the course, and still had several days left before school started. Since both he and Sarah were starting the course, they would sometimes compare notes. Harry, however, was much more advanced, Sarah having seen the basics for the first half of the first year of the course. Harry had to admit that she learned quickly, however, and was confident that she wouldn't have too much trouble once school started.

They would also spend a couple of hours flying. Harry sometimes managed to convince her to leave her books alone, so Sirius, Remus, Sarah and Harry would play 2-a-side quidditch, using only quaffle and bludgers, teams being composed of a keeper and chaser. The keeper and chaser would swap after every few goals, so that they weren't too bored playing the same position for too long. Harry used the times he was playing keeper to observe how she flew. She was quite good as a chaser, and above average as a keeper. Harry doubted, however, that she was good enough to be on the school team. It would depend, of course, on the other players.

They spent the next few days before school just relaxing. Harry had given back his report concerning Sarahs test results to Dumbledore, who was more than satisfied at her results. She only had a bit of trouble in transfiguration, and since it was reputed to be the hardest branch of magic, it wasn't all that bad. She wasn't all that good in potions, either, but did well enough. And her score in Astronomy, Herbology, Creatures and curses in general (for DADA) were above average. Harry had recieved owls from both Ron and Hermione asking about Sarah, and Harry had written back. Sarah continued to spend her time looking through books, reading as much as possible. Thanks to a great effort and a lot of time, she was up to date with Ancient Runes, as was Harry who had started to read ahead in the book that was for fifth-years.

The four of them (Harry, Sarah, Sirius and Remus) would often spend their evenings together, talking or playing card games. Harry also taught Sarah how to play chess, although he admitted to being a rather terrible player. Sirius was pretty good, however, and he was 'gracious' enough to give them both some pointers (after some begging from Harrys' part, and a lot of showing off fom Sirius').

Harry didn't have any extra lessons for the rest of the holidays, and there was little chance that he would have them during the school year. Remus and Sirius had told him that they would probably leave soon on some task for Dumbledore. They both reassured him that it wasn't anything too dangerous, but he still told them to be extra careful.

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September first finally rolled around. Harry was currently waiting for Ron and Hermione on the Hogwarts express, which was boarded on platform 9 ¾. Harry didn't want to wait for them at the school, since that would mean spending the whole day without them. He had had to spend most of the holidays without them, and every moment he could spend with his friends was precious. Sarah was also waiting with him. She was anxious to meet Harrys' friends, especially after Harry had told her of some of the adventures they had had together.

They had chosen to seat themselves in a carriage towards the rear of the train. Outside the window they could see several of the students and their parents arriving, and several groups of students who were talking amongst themselves. It was only half past ten, and Harry hadn't seen many people that he recognized, neither friend nor foe. He hadn't seen Cho Chang. That worried him slightly, since he hadn't recieved an answer to the letter he had written her. He just wanted to make sure she wasn't angry at him or that she hated him, that she was coping with what had happened.

At quarter to eleven, Harry spotted several red heads coming through the wall that seperated platform 9 ¾ from the rest of Kings Cross Station. Straining his eyes slightly, he could recognize Fred and George, the biggest pair of trouble-makers that were currently at Hogwarts. They spent most of their free time inventive some joke or prank. Their goal was to open a prank shop once they left Hogwarts, and they were well on their way to reaching that goal. To help them in their chosen path, Harry had given them the entirety of his tri-wizard winnings, all 1000 galleons of it.

Among the red-heads, Harry spotted a head of bushy brown hair. Who else could it be other than Hermione, Harrys' other best friend along with Ron.The whole group made their way towards the train. Harry could make out Ron, who seemed to be looking for him, so Harry got up and stuck his head out of the window to wave. Ron soon spotted him. He had to admit that he was hard to miss, and even harder to confuse with someone else. To put it blatently, he stuck out like a sore thumb. A couple of minutes later, Ron opened the door to the carriage.

"Harry mate. Good to see you. Brilliant tatoos. I didn't think they would be so big" he said, looking at Harrys' arms, slightly awed. Harry had written about his tatoos in his letter to Ron, but hadn't given more than a very brief description. He then noticed Sarah. "Hello, my names Ron Weasley," he said, sticking out his hand.

Sarah took it. "Yes. Harrys' told me a lot about you."

Ron shot Harry an inquiring look, and Harry put on his best innocent face. "Nothing bad I hope," he said as he sat down opposite Harry, who was sitting facing forwards next to Sarah.

"No, just some of the adventures you three have had."

Hermione chose that moment to enter. "Ron you could have waited 5 seconds for me," she scolded, while Ron took on a slightly embarassed look.

"Sorry, 'Mione."

"It's okay. Hello Harry. Oh, hello. Are you a new student ?" she asked, looking at Sarah. She hadn't even noticed his tatoos yet. He had only mentionned them to Ron, and had asked him to not tell Hermione, to surprise her

Sarah gave a warm smile. "Yes. I transferred from Canada. My names Sarah Winslow," she said holding out her hand. Hermione took it and shook it.

"Hermione Granger. If you ever have any questions, I'd be glad to help. I'm a prefect, and so is Ron, even if he doesn't act like it,"she said.

"Hey, I do act like it. You've just been excaggerating everything that's written in that rulebook," Ron shot back in his defence. But had a small, patronizing look on his face.

"Sarah's already been sorted."

"Oh, have you ?" Hermione said. "Which house are you in ?" she asked, sitting down opposite Sarah and, therefore, next to Ron.

"I'm in Gryffindor."

"Like us. That's good. Where did you go before coming here ?" Hermione asked, always trying to find out everything she could. Ron just rolled his eyes, even if he was also curious about the new girl.

"I never had proper schooling. I was taught by friends and family," she said, a bit nervous about the direction the conversation was heading. Harry could sense it. Stuff that, he could smell it. Since he had guessed the truth about her, and since Hermione was the smartest witch in the school, she wouldn't take long to figure it out. After all, she was the one to find out about Remus Lupin being a werewolf.

"And what have you two done during the rest of the holidays ?" he asked, although the question was more directed towards Hermione. "Any … homework, by any chance ?" he said with a grin. Rons face became one of disgust, while Hermiones lighted up.

"Oh yeah. I bought several extra books other than those on the school list You know that we have OWLs this year, and I thought that a few extra reference books could come in useful. It let me add extra comments on the school assignments."

"No kidding. You know Mcgonagall asked for 2 rolls of parchment for her assignment, Hermione did 6."

"Well sorry for wanting to do well," she sniffed.

"I'll be surprised if she has enough time to read it all," Ron said. Only Harry and Sarah had noticed that the train had started to move, slowly leaving the station and heading towards Hogwarts.

During the trip, they talked or played cards. Harry made a mental note to avoid talking about schoolwork when both Ron and Hermione were in the same room, since it was likely to lead to a scalding argument. He had managed to avert one more before lunchtime, and hoped that things would calm down during the school year. Hermione noticed Harrys' tatoos. Now that she saw them, she huffed a bit about not being told before saying how they were permanent and stuff like that, and finally admitting that they were magnificent. Harry bought a whole array of sweets from the trolley lady and shared them with all present. They were also visited by several of their friends. They almost all knew that Harry had changed so, since they had either seen him in Diagon Alley or had spoken with with someone who had seen him. The rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team passed. Alicia and Katie wolf-whistled when the saw him, since he wasn't wearing his school robes yet and had his arms bare. Ron and Hermione also had to leave for a short while to be explained their prefect duties and to arrange for the common room passwords. They came back and informed Harry that Draco had been made prefect.

They thankfully hadn't been visited by resident slimeball Draco Malfoy and his 2 goons. Draco must remember what had happened when they had crossed in Diagon Alley. Harry had explained to Sarah about Draco, and she was already sure that she didn't like him. And she hadn't even seen him yet.

Once they arrived at Hogwarts, everyone got changed into their school robes. Harry loosened his shirt and tie, finding the dratted thing too constricting for his tastes. But he would have to bear it, like every other student in the school that hated ties. The train stopped, and Harry, Sarah, Hermione and Ron left their carriage and stepped onto the platform. Over the noise of the other students, they could hear a familiar voice calling "First years, this way." Turning, they could see Hagrid the half-giant, looming over the students. They approached.

"Hello Hagrid," they called. He looked up and spotted them.

(AN : I appologize to anyone who is offended by my doing Hagrids accent. I'm trying …")

"Ah, 'ello 'Arry. Good te see y'again. An' Ron, an' Hermione," he said, before continueing his search for first years. Harry and the others made their way towards the horseless carriages that were waiting. It was better than crossing the lake, especially in rainy weather. Thankfully, tonight was dry and rather warm, as summer was coming to an end. The carriages made their way towards Hogwarts, stopping just before the main entrance. Students of every year clambered out and made their way towards the great hall, where they would have the welcoming feast. The teachers were already seated at the head table, all save for Mcgonagall, who traditionnally greeted the first years and brought them in for the sorting, and professor Trelawney, who rarely came down into the great hall anyway.

Everyone sat down at their respective tables. Harry sat down next to Ron and opposite Sarah, who herself was opposite Ron. Harry, seated closent to the wall, had a view on everyone in the great hall. He scanned for Cho, and saw her seated among some of what Harry supposed were her friends. She looked okay, good even if you considered her boyfriends died slightly over 2 months ago. She hadn't answered to Harys' letter, so Harry wondered how she was holding up. She looked up and her eyes crossed Harrys. He didn't see any anger or hate, just … resignation. It was as if she didn't like what had happened, but had no other choice but to accept it. She gave Harry a small smile, who returned it. He would still like to talk to her to check up on her well-being. But, he noticed, he didn't go red at the sight of her. Maybe he was over his crush on her. Who knows.

The doors to the great hall opened, and Mcgonagall entered, carrying the sorting hat and a roll of parchment, followed by a line of forty-odd kids, the new first-years. They looked awed at the cieling, as Harry remembered he had been the first time he had seen it. To tell the truth, he was still slightly awed, as it was often beautiful to watch the sky, whatever the time of day. Mcgonagall arrived at the front of the hall, and the students stopped just short. She deposited the hat on a stool just in front of the head table. What appeared to be a rip appeared, getting bigger until it stretched from one side to the other. Then, it sang its song :

__

T'was over a thousand years ago,

When this school was started,

To teach the witches and wizards,

Of those magical arts crafted.

The founders, who numbered four,

No longer are with us here,

So they left me to place you,

Trust me, have no fear.

Perhaps you belong in Gryffindor,

Where courage and nobility,

Are the qualities prefered,

Above others or ability.

Maybe your place is in Ravenclaw,

Where the smart reside,

In books they place their trust,

And in its knowledge, they abide.

Could it be in Hufflepuff,

That you'll find a new home,

Among those who loyalty and hard work,

Welcome as their own.

Or finally, perhaps house Slytherin,

Is where you find your calling,

Ambition and cunning are highly prized,

For failure, they find appaling.

So put me on,

Do trust in me,

Let me place you,

Where you are to be.

With that, the hat bowed to all four house tables while everyone broke out into applause. Mcgonagall unrolled the parchment that was in her hand and started with the sorting.

"Acory, William." A small boy, with blond hair and clear blue eyes walke forwards, nervously seating himself on the stool while the hat was placed on his head. A few seconds later, it gave its verdict.

"RAVENCLAW !!!"

Said house burst out into applause as the boy removed the hat, giving it to Mcgonagall, and walked to his new housemates, who shook his hand as he sat down. The rest of the sorting passed, with all 43 students being placed. 11 for Gryffindor, 13 for Ravenclaw, 10 for Hufflepuff and 9 for Slytherin. Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore stood.

"Welcome, students, old and new, to a new school year. As always, a few announcements before we eat. The forbidden forest is, as always, strictly out-of-bounds for all students." He said this looking directly at the Weasley twins, who put on faces on the purest innocence. "Also, you are reminded that magic is no allowed to be used in the corridors. I would like to tell you also that the quidditch season will be beng help this year … (Dumbledore paused, while everyone applauded) … and that team-mates should meet to discuss new captains and team-members. And finally, I would like to introduce you to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, miss Arabella Figg." A woman, who looked about 30 years of age, with light brown hair and brown eyes stood up and waved, recieving a round of applause from almost all present, save for a few Slytherins. Harry had already seen her, since she had been present during Harrys' transformation. But he hadn't exchanged any words with her at all. "Now, let the feast, begin."

With that, delicious-looking food appeared on the serving dishes, and soon everyone was chatting away while eating. Sarah wasn't surprised with the food, since she had already eaten in the great hall and the food had appeared in the exact same way, but several gasps of awe could be heard from the new first-years. Once the meal was finished and the plate and dishes were clear of the desert that had just been served, Dumbledore stood up once again, and the hall became silent again.

"Would prefects lead the students to their common rooms." The different prefects stood. Harry saw that Malfoy was already leading the students with a _very_ smug look on his face.. His father had probably bought him the place, although he could lose it if the other prefects put forward complaints, and he was voted off, in which a new prefect had to be chosen.

Harry followed the rest of his fellow Gryffindow students, talking with Sarah while they headed for the Gryffindor common room. Hermione and Ron were leading the students, since they were prefects. Once they arrived before the painting of the fat lady, Harry could hear Hermione : "Now, the password to the common room is 'Draconis Major'. Please remember it, since you will not be granted access to the common room if you don't give the correct password." Harry heard Neville groan. He was famous for forgetting the passwords with ease, and since they changed regularly, he usually remembered once it was changed. The painting moved aside, allowing the students to enter. Harry saw Ron and Hermione attending to their duties with the first-years, so he went and sat in front of the fire with Sarah. They talked while waiting fot the other pair. They got on very well together. They had spent quite a lot of time together, since they had only each other for company their age, and talked a lot. Ron and Hermione came down 10 minutes later.

"Ah, finally, some rest for this poor, weary person," Ron sighed as he sat down.

"Yeah, for once you've done some work," Harry said with a grin.

"Mind it, Harry. I'm tempted to remove House points just for that blatent show of disrespect towards a prefect," Ron answered, although the grin he wore just didn't make him look serious about his threat.

"Oh, I'm scared. Rons using complicated words. Run for your lives, the appocalypse is coming …"

"The what ?" he asked.

"Never mind, muggle thing," Hermione said. They talked for a little while more before all going to bed, since today was a Friday. They had the weekend at the school before lessons started, so it didn't matter if they stayed up a little later. But eventually, their respective beds called, and they bid each other good night and they went to sleep.

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	13. Chapter 13 : First Weekend at Hogwarts

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. I want to appologize for the delay. I had hoped to finish about a week ago, but had a small case of writers block, and was still stressed out because of my end of year exams.

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read and review :** Skysong (**thanks**), Death-Demon Xero (**thanks also**), jay (**I like reading a lot, too**), Corrie (**thank you**), Motivation (**sorry, but I'm not from Canada. I chose Sarah to be from Canada because it's a big place, where werewolves can roam in all freedom**) and Animagiman (**here it is, sorry for the delay, and thanks for reading**).**

The next chapter should be out between 2 and 3 weeks. I will be starting my work experiance on Monday, meaning regular work and full hours, but no homework (yay for that).

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 13

__

"Ah, finally, some rest for this poor, weary person," Ron sighed as he sat down.

"Yeah, for once you've done some work," Harry said with a grin.

"Mind it, Harry. I'm tempted to remove House points just for that blatent show of disrespect towards a prefect," Ron answered, although the grin he wore just didn't make him look serious about his threat.

"Oh, I'm scared. Rons using complicated words. Run for your lives, the appocalypse is coming …"

"The what ?" he asked.

"Never mind, muggle thing," Hermione said. They talked for a little while more before all going to bed, since today was a Friday. They had the weekend at the school before lessons started, so it didn't matter if they stayed up a little later. But eventually, their respective beds called, and they bid each other good night and they went to sleep.

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Harry woke up bright and early on Saturday morning. Opening up the curtains that surrounded his bed, he saw that he was the only one up. He could hear 4 people breathing in the room, not forgetting Rons light snoring. Harry knew that he snored, since he had shared a room with him before, but he hadn't heard it as clearly as he did after his transformation.

Getting up, Harry got dressed into a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a casual shirt. Students weren't obliged to wear their school robes during the weekends, for which many students were grateful. And there were quite a lot of students that hadn't been brought up wearing robes every day. Harry walked over to Rons bed and slowly opened his curtains so as not to wake him up … yet. Removing his wand from his pocket, he conjured a bucket of ice-cold water with a flick of his wand, levitating it just above Rons head. Another flick, and the bucket tipped completely, drenching Rons head with its contents.

Ron jerked up with a cry, spluttering as the water ran down from his hair into his face. Blinking, he saw Harry on the floor, laughing. "Harry ! Did you … ?"

"Who, me ? Never." Harry said, the grin on his face betraying what he had done.

"Harry, I'm gonna kill you for that." Ron reached over to the bedside table for his wand, while Harry bolted for the door, still laughing. He managed to get through the door just as a tickling charm hit the doorpost, missing him by inches. With his size, he was an easier target.

"Missed by miles, Ron. You couldn't hit a barn fron 5 meters away," Harry said, sticking his head around the door to grin at his best friend. Another curse grazed his head, so he decided a strategic retreat was the best course of action. "I'll wait for you in the common room," he cheerfully said, before heading down.

Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, he met up with Sarah and Hermione, who were busily discussing some obscure point that was a part of the charms essay for the summer holidays. Hermione was casually dressed, with a plain white t-shirt and faded blue jeans. Sarah was wearing a short-sleeved pale-blue shirt and a pair of black jeans. Harry took a second to look at his best friend, who had changed during the holidays. She was much more feminine, and was now definitely a young woman (AN : dawn, you Hermione haters. And concerning a Harry/Hermione ship : I DON'T KNOW. And it wouldn't happen for a while yet anyway if it was the case). Seeing Harry coming over, they interrupted their conversation.

"Hiya Harry. Is Ron coming ?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. I gave him a wake-up call," Harry said with a grin on his face.

"Is he going to come down completely blue or something ?" Hermione asked with a small smile on her face. Sarah gave Hermione a searching look.

"No, I'll admit, I didn't think of that. I might try it out next time."

Harry was about to say something else when Fred and George, pranksters extraordinaire, came over to their group with a handful of sweets. "Hiya Harry," they said at exactly the same time, with exactly the same evil grin on their faces. "Want a sweet ?" They shoved a small blue sweet in front of Harrys face.

"Erm, I think I'll pass. I know you too well. Try the first years."

"I think, dear brother …"

"That the possibility of tricking Harry …"

"Has diminished to zero."

Harry gave them a grin. "Rons going to come downstairs in a couple of minutes. Give me one, I'll see if he bites. What do they do, by the way ?"

"Nothing damaging. They simply make your face turn a different colour according to your present state : red for anger, blue for calm, green for envy, and so on. Lasts for a different amount of time according to the colour of the sweet, following the order of the rainbow. Red lasts the shortest, about 5 minutes, then orange, yellow, and so on. Violet lasts for up to 5 hours. It took a while to coordinate the colours to the emotions, but we got it in the end."

"Very interesting. Do you have a list for the emotions ?"

"Nothing definitive, just a list on a spare piece of parchment. We were wondering whether to give the list with the sweets of to let people find out for themselves."

"I dunno. Some would prefer one way, whereas other would prefer the other. You could always ask people if they want the list or not."

"Hey, good idea Harry. Here, take a couple. People trust you more than they trust us, so you can tell us what happens." They gave Harry a few sweets of each colour, and he pocketed them before anybody else came down the stairs. Fred and George left the common room, probably heading down to breakfast. The three sat in front of the fire waiting for Ron to come down before going to breakfast. Hermione had found out that Sarah was almost as enthusiastic a reader as she was, and they were busily chatting away, although Sarah was still a bt shy to voice her opinion.

5 minutes passed before Ron finally came down. His wair was still wet from Harrys use of a spell. He had managed to salvage the situation, however, slicking his hair back slightly. It would have worked if it wasn't for a patch of hair that had sprung back up at the back of his head. But it was a good try. Of course, Harry and Hermione being the good friends that they were, they didn't mention it to Ron.

Convincing Hermione to leave her book in the common room, the quartet walked down to the great hall. As they entered, several students hushed to get a better look at Harry. The hall was only about half full, since students prefered to stay in late, so the turning of heads was noticable. Of course, they had had a glipse of Harry already at the welcoming feast the day before, but hadn't had the opportunity to see him clearly. He was difficult to miss. Only Hagrid was bigger than he now was, although Dumbledore gave the impression he was bigger thanks to a tall, pointed hat. He was also much broader, and gave off an impression of power, and not just in a physical sense. He held himself like someone who knew they had little to fear, even though it was on an unconcious level. Walking over to the Gryffindor table, they sat down and started to eat the food that appeared before them, Harry ignoring the looks he was getting. Harry took a very healthy serving, while Ron just stuffed food in his mouth. Hermione and Sarah ate and spoke of schoolwork at the same time, while Harry and Ron would roll their eyes to each other every so often.

The hall slowly filled up as time passed. Most of the teachers were there. Harry gave a wave to Hagrid as he entered and sat down at the end of the head table. Hagrid waved back before turning to professor Figg who was sitting next to him. Dumbledore was talking to Mcgonagall, whle the other teachers were presently just eating or looking around the hall. Snape, as usual, had a very surly leave-me-be look on his face. After all, he did have a reputation to uphold. Harry was thankful that it was the weekend, since it meant that there was no risk they had double potions with the Slytherins on their first day back.

"So, what should we do today ?" Harry asked, interrupting Sarah and Hermione.

"Well, I really wanted to get to the library, to see if there was anything I could add to my Charms and Transfiguration essays," Hermione started out. 

"Oh, come on, Herms. We haven't even started and you want to go to the library already," Ron said after he swallowed the piece of sausage he had nearly choked on.

"We could go and visit Hagrid. You two haven't seen him in a while," Harry suggested.

"Good idea. I'll just go to the library in the afternoon," Hermione said, shooting her trademark death glare at Ron, who just shrugged it off. "After all, I want to get good marks for the OWL exams that will be coming at the end of the year."

"But Herm, they're months away. We've got loads of time," Ron said in a whiny voice.

"Good, all the more time to be prepared for them. Harry agrees with me, don't you ?" she said, turning towards said person, who backed away slightly.

Hary was saved by the arrival of Fred and George, who came behind Harry and placed each a hand on one of his shoulders.

"Ah, Harry, just the person we wanted to see," started who Harry knew to be Fred.

"Yes. You see, the members of the quidditch team …"

"Have to get together …"

"To discuss certain matters of the utmost import …"

"Such as training, new team members and a new team captain."

Hermione looked at the two twins, who still had a hand of Harrys' shoulder. "Stop doing that, it makes me dizzy."

"Do …"

"What ?" they said, looking straight at Hermione with a straight face, who could just sigh in excasperation.

"Erm, how about we all talk about it later in the common room. There's nothing too secret about what we're going to say, is there ?"

"Not at all, old chap. See you later." With that, the two marched off to join Lee Jordan who had just entered the great hall.

"Come on, let's go see Hagrid," Harry said, getting up and heading towards the entrance, followed by the three others.

Leaving the great hall, they exited the main entrance and headed towards theforbidden forest, since Hagrids hut was situated at the edge of the forest. Once they were closer, they could see Hagrid who was sitting on the steps of his hut with Fang – his boarhound – lying down at his feet. Across his lap was his trusty crossbow, and it looked to be that he was busy maintaining it.

"Hiya Hagrid," Harry called out once they had drawn closer.

"'Arry, good te see ye," Hagrid said, looking up to see who was approaching. "An' you, Ron, Hermione and Sarah." Hagrid and Sarah had already met briefly during meals, but hadn't really spoken more than a simple polite greeting to each other.

"So what were you up to during the holidays, Hagrid ? Went to visit the giants ?" Hermione asked, after they had all been invited into the hut and Hagrid had poured them all some tea. He had also placed a tray of cookies before them, but everyone but Sarah knew to be cautious about what Hagrid offered to eat. She had managed to eat one, although she was rubbing her jaw slightly afterwards.

"How d'ye know tha' ?" he asked.

"Logical. Who else would have a good chance of offering a hand of friendship to them, before you-Know-Who ?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Yeah, I went with Olympe, that's madame Maxime to you lot. They want to stay neutral, but it's likely tha' they'll join one side if the other attacks 'em."

"Let's just hope Fudge doesn't get too stupid and do just that," Harry said.

They contiued to talk about their respective holidays till lunchtime. Hagrid offered to have them eat in the hut, but they managed to kindly but firmly refure his offer. Making their way back to the great hall, they were in the entrance when who should arive but Malfoy and croonies.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Gryffindorks," he leered, flashing his prefect badge for extra measure, while Crabbe and Goyle crack their knuckles. Draco knew that if Harry tried to do as he had in Diagon alley, he could take points and even give a detention.

"What is it that you want, Drakie-pooh ?" Harry asked. Ron and Hermione looked at him slack-jaw, while Dracos demeanor faltered, a scowl appearing on his features before reverting back to his usual sneer.

"Don't get too high and mighty, Potter. I might be obliged to remove points from Gryffindor."

"That's unlikely. Not only are these two …" indicating Hermione and Ron, who puffed out his chest "… prefects aswell, but you have to justify every point you remove. What are you going to write : 5 points from Gryffindor for existing ?"

Ron laughed at this, while Draco just glared before entering the great hall, followed by his goons. Harry just shook his head.

"Come on, lunch is calling."

"Right behind you," Ron said, as they entered the hall.

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Hermione went to the library after lunch. She would have stayed, if madame Pince hadn't shooed her out for disturbing her on the first day. She did manage to take several books out, and was busy reading them, taking notes on a spare piece of parchment. Harry and Ron were playing wizards chess, while Sarah was reviewing her notes for Ancient Runes. Hermione, trying to act like a perfect prefect, had offered to help her later on in the day.

"Checkmate," Ron said, moving his rook. Harry looked at the board, before shaking his head.

"Oh, surprise, he beat me."

"Hey, you challange the master, you have to expect to be defeated."

"I gave you a run for your money, though." Looking down at the chessboard, Harry had 4 pawns, 1 bishop, 1 knight and a rook left. Ron had only 3 pawns left, but still had a bishop, 1 knight, his two rooks and his queen. It had been a long and brutal battle, jusging by the amount of rubble from the other pieces that were on the side of the board.

"Yeah, for once. Makes a change. Another game ?"

"No thanks. How about Exploding Snap, or Go Fish ? Something where I've got a chance of winning."

"Sure, I'll go get my cards," Ron said, heading for his dorms and dissappearing up the stairs.

"Wanna join us, Hermione ?"

"No, I'm busy."

"Fine, I'll go ask Neville. He's better company anyway." Hermione didn't bother answering, she just rolled her eyes. "Hey, Neville, wanna play cards ?" Harry called across the common room.

Neville had changed slightly during the summer holidays. He had grown a bit, and lost quite a bit of his chubbiness and general roundness. It gave him a slightly more confident look, since his face was better defined. He was one of the few who didn't look at Harry awestruck since his transformation, since he too had changed quite a bit. He had shyed a bit when they had met in Diagon alley, but more in surprise. Colin Creevy, however, had frozen and had to be bodily removed, not too unlike when he was petrified.

"Sure Harry. Watcha playing ?" he asked as he came over.

"Dunno, Ron's gone to get his cards. Sarah, want to join the men in a friendly game of cards ?" he asked, throwing his arm around Nevilles shoulders. Neville visibly had a new personnality with his new look, since he pushed Harrys arm off his shoulders.

"Gerroff me, you heavy … thing, you."

"Me, a thing !? Come 'ere, I'll give you thing !"

Neville was saved by Ron coming down the stairs with a pack of cards in his hands. "I couldn't find my cards for 'Go Fish', so it'll have to be exploding snap."

"No problem. Sarah ?"

Sarah looked up from her notes and looked at what she still had to review. "Sure." She put the piece of parchment she had been reading on the book on the table in front of her before walking over. Harry was sitting next to Neville, while Ron was next to Sarah. They played for about an hour, Neville winning 5 games in a row before Sarah managed to sneak in a victory. That was enough to break his lucky streak, since Ron won a game and Harry won 3 before they had enough.

"Hey Harry, do you think you could check my Charms essay ?" Neville asked Harry. Ron had put his cards away and was reading 'Quidditch Through the Ages' for the upteenth time, while Sarah had gone back to reviewing her runes. Hermione was still working, and Harry had been lounging in the sofa stareing at the fire.

"Sure. You sure you don't want to ask Hermione ?"

"No, she looks busy enough as it is. She might bite my head off if I ask her."

"Sure, hand it over."

Neville ran up the stairs to get his assignment. Hermione looked up from her work and looked at Harry. "Why aren't you a prefect ? You'ld be perfect in the position."

Harry looked at Hermione. "I refused the position, Herms. I didn't want to have to deal with everything at the same time."

"You mean your OWCH !!!" Ron had been about to let slip Harrys secret, meaning Harry had had to kick Ron in the shin to silence him.

"Yes, Ron, that," Harry said, looking Ron intently in the eye. Ron realized he was about to make a mistake, smiled embarassingly, and returned to his book, rubbing his shin. Neville came back down with a few rolls of parchment. Harry remembered that Flitwick had only asked for 2 rolls of parchment, yet Neville had at least 4 rolls in his arms. "Blimey, Neville, you must have worked a long time on it."

"Yeah, my grandma had several books on the subject, and made me do a lot more reading. She also wrote to the ministry, asking if I could practice magic at certain hours of the day to improve," he said sheepishly.

"Good going. Getting any better ?" Harry asked while he grabbed the scrolls and started to read.

"Not too bad. I can manage most of the charms we had seen during forth year, and I'm a bit better in DADA. Not so hot in transfiguration, but you can't have it all. I didn't even try potions."

"You should have. Not having Snape breathing down your neck could be what you need to boost your confidance. Besides, you've got Herbology to fall back on. You're a whizz in that lesson." Neville blushed slightly at this, while Hermione seemed interested.

"So the ministry allowed you to use magic, during the holidays ?" she asked, clearly interested.

"Yeah, special circumstances. My grandma wrote a long letter, saying that I had dismal marks in Charms and Transfiguration. She said that it would be beneficial for my education and for the OWLs if I could practice magic under adult supervision during certain hours of the day. Or something like that. Anyway, they wrote back and agreed. Cool, huh ?"

"Yeah. I hadn't even thought of that," she said thoughtfully.

"It might not work for you, Herms. They might accept, seeing as your top of the year, but they might refuse for the same reason," Harry said, having finished reading the first roll of parchment and starting on the second. "I didn't have any trouble, seeing as I was staying at Hogwarts during most of the holidays. There's too much ambiant magic here for there detectors to have a hope of working."

"How come ?" Neville asked. He hadn't heard of a student staying at Hogwarts during the summer holidays before,and was intrigued.

"Abnormal growth spurt," was Harrys muttered answer, never lifting his eyes up from the roll of parchment he was reading." This is pretty good so far, Neville. Your extra work paid off." Neville was almost aglow with the praise. He was known as being clumsier than the average student, but fervently hoped that this year would be different. He had noticed that Charms was getting slightly easier towards the end of the forth year. And fifth year was generally considered a critical one. Their bodies weren't just maturing physically, but also magically. So they may improve in a lesson they previously had trouble with before. He hoped that this was the case with Charms, although he still had little hope for transfiguration. But you can never tell.

Harry was now half-way through the third roll of parchment before pointing out a little inconsistancy in a line, so Neville quickly corrected it. Other than that, Harry found nothing to say on the essay.

"Hey Ron, fancy a swim in the lake ?"

Looking up from his book, he asked, "isn't it a bit cold now ?"

"Nonsense, it'll be good. Invigorating. Neville, Hermione, Sarah ?" he asked, looking at the others while dragging a stuttering Ron to his feet. Hermione just rolled her eyes at him, while Sarah politely refused. Neville accepted and managed to convince Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas to join them. They all ran up to their dorm to get their swimming stuff before rushing out to the lake. Harry transfigured some dead branches into changing cabins so that they could get changed in all privacy before jumping into the lake. As Harry had said, the water was still warm enough to swim in comfortably. They were spotted, however, by some Ravenclaw sixth years who soon joined them. Some Hufflepuffs soon followed, and before long, it looked like a beach day, with cabins spotting the shore and students playing in the lake …

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Getting up on Sunday morning, Harry was ravenous. After he, and several other, had spent a good part of yesterday afternoon swimming and mucking about in the lake, he had to admit that it had worked up an appetite. And despite having eating a large portion the evening before, he was still hungry. He wanted to wait for Ron or someone, but his stomach growling helped him to change his mind.

Getting up and dressing in almost total silence, he made his way down to the great hall. He passed several students on the way, dressed in the same casual attire as yesterday. Upon arriving at the great hall, he saw that it was almost empty. There were a few students from each house, sitting at their respective places and tables. Only a couple of teachers were present, Dumbledore included, since they also liked to sleep in once in a while.

At the Ravenclaw table, he saw Cho seated, sitting alone, slightly appart from her housemates, pushing the food on her plate around before taking a small bite. She looked, okay, all things considering. Harry remembered that he hadn't recieved an answer for the letter he had sent her, relating the events of the third task of the tri-wizard tournament. Harry slowly walked aver and took a seat opposite her.

"Hello Cho," he said softly. She looked up and gave him a small smile.

"Hi Harry."

"How are you holding up ?"

She gave a small sigh, and looked back at the food on her plate. "Okay, I suppose. It was hard at first. You letter helped. A lot. Knowing what happened …" she trailed off.

"And will you be alright ?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I suppose. I'm trying to move on. It would be what he wanted, that I remember the good times we had but not let what happened destroy me. I miss him though."

"Cho, if there's anything I can do, or if you just need a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on, you can always come to me."

She looked up again, and look at him straight in the eye. "Thanks, Harry. I might take you up on that offer."

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

She gave a small nod of understanding before returning to her food. Harry got up and made his way to the Gryffindor table. There were a couple of second years eating at the end of the table nearest to the entrance, next to some sixh years. Harry didn't know anybody, although some of the faces were vaguely familiar. He had crossed them several times in the Gryffindor common room or in the corridors, but would be unable to say what their names were. He went to the middle of the table and took a seat that permitted him to see who was entering and leaving. Immediately, food appeared around where he was sitting, and he served himself some pancakes and syrup and tucked into the food.

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Ron and Hermione joined Harry when he had almost finished breakfast. After the pancakes, he hade made his way through several pieces of toast, a dozen sausages, some eggs and pieces of bacon, and a small mound of fried mushrooms and tomatoes. They talked while Ron and Hermione ate, wondering what they would do after breakfast. After all, they had finished their summer homework (Ron made it clear that Hermione had done enough, and surprisingly, she had agreed), had gone to see Hagrid, had a swim in the lake and played several games of exploding snap. Even Ron had to admit, it was a bit boring with no schoolwork to do.

Harry had an idea after a visit from Fred and George …

"Hey Harry," said Fred, or was it George, sitting down on Harrys left side.

"We hafta talk," the other twin finished, sitting down on Harrys right side.

Harry looked at the one twin before turning towards the other, eyeing them in case they wanted to play a prank on him.

"Even if the team talked about it yesterday evening …"

"We're going to have a meeting later …"

"With the other members of the quidditch team …"

"To discuss new players and …"

"A new captain."

"Mcgonagall will have to be there …"

"Since she is our brilliant head of house …"

"So be at her classroom …"

"At six o clock, on the dot."

With that, they stood up before moving down the table where the female members of the quidditch team were, along with their friend Lee, Hogwarts commentator.

"Hey Ron, fancy going flying ?" Harry asked, still slightly dazed with the twins performance of thinking alike.

"Sure. I might even try out for the team. I'm not a great fan of being keeper, though. I'm more of a chaser."

"Well, we'll probably have to hold tryouts to get reserve players. You could always do that. After all, most of the players will be graduating this year."

"Yeah, allright. Coming, Herms ?"

"No, I'll stay in the common room. Thereare still a couple of things a want to read before the school year starts." Ron just rolled his eyes at this, but thankfully refrained from making any comment.

Harry went to get his broom and they both went to the quidditch pitch, whereas Ron got one of the school brooms. Harry kicked off, rapidly rising into the cool air. Letting off a small 'whoop' of joy, he flew around the stadium a couple of times, while Ron attempted to keep up. Harry didn't noticed, too overjoyed to be able to fly around. Once he had completed his laps, he went over to Ron.

"I really, really, REALLY, love, to fly," Harry said, a wide grin on his face.

"You don't say. I never noticed." Ron was getting the best out of the old broom, but it unfortunately wasn't much. He would certainly need to get something better if he ever wanted to join the team. But good brooms cost quite a lot of money. "And you're right. You really fly better than before. You already were a damn good flyer. But now, woah !"

They spent over an hour flying around. Harry fetched the quaffle and played chaser, while Ron practiced keeper, before swapping places. Harry had to hold back a bit when he threw the quaffle, since he didn't want to hurt his friend. They also played with only the snitch, but Harry saw it after 10 minutes of play and caught it almost immediately.

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6 o' clock found Harry in the same room with Fred and George, who were beaters on the gryffindor quidditch team, along with the chasers, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet, as well as his head of house Minerva Mcgonagall. Mcgonagall had handed out a piece of parchement each and a quill, with which they had to vote who they wanted as captain. They were supposed to meet the night before, but Fred and George had been detained and Mcgonagall couldn't make it either.

Harry looked over at the rest of his team-mates. Fred and George, they would hate being captains. Harry didn't know any of the three girls all that well, he had to admit. But when he watched them play, it always seemed to be Angelina that set them up to score, or made the necessary break. So grabbing his quill, he clearly wrote down 'Angelina Johnson' on his piece of parchment before folding it and giving it back to the transfiguration teacher.

Once everyone had handed out their piece, she pocketed them, telling them that she would check the results and get back in touch. Next point was the tryouts, which would take place next Saturday morning. They were also having tryouts for the reserve team, since they didn't have any, and next year they would lose at least 5 players. For seekers, Harry would be in charge of testing the players as Oliver Wood had first tested them, by throwing golf balls and seeing how well they caught them, followed by actually trying to find the real snitch. Beaters would be Fred and George, who continued to whisper between themselves before saying that they wouldn't tell how they would be testing the beaters, which slightly infuriated Mcgonagall. But she slightly expected it, so she let it slip. Chasers would be checked by the girls, who would have them play by replacing one of them, and seeing how well they scored. And finally, keeper. The 3 chasers would try to score against the player, while Harry looked and made notes and kept track on the number of goals scored.

Once the meeting was over, Harry called Fred and George over before they left to creat havoc somewhere in the school. "Hey Fred, George, come over here a sec." The twins looked at each other questionningly before getting over, while the girls left. Mcgonagal had left first, so that they were alone in the house. "Look, those sweets you gave me, how many do you have on you ?"

"Quite a lot, actually. We were hoping to sell them."

"I haven't been able to give someone one yet. But how about this : you bring some down to the kitchens, and ask the house elves to put them into small bowls that they put on the tables at the end of the meal tonight."

Fred and George looked at each other and grinned. "Yeah, but they aren't really trusting with that."

"Ask for the house elf called 'Dobby'. Talk to him and tell him that I suggested it to you. That should make him willing to cooperate."

"Will do, Harry." They rushed out the room and started thundering down the corridors, heading straight towards the Gryffindor common room. Harry followed, but at a much more leisurly pace.

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The sweets had been a huge success at dinner. Harry had told no one what the twins were up to, which meant that only himself and the twins weren't the only ones affected by the sweets. Dumbledore, being especially of violet sweets, ended up taking one of the 5-hour ones. His face stayed on the colour for 'amusement', according to the twins, while Snape had the colour of 'annoyance'. No surprises there.

After dinner, everyone went back to their common rooms. Harry, Ron and Hermione stayed by the fire for another few hours, playing cards or just talking. Sarah was sitting at a table a few meters away, looking over some of the notes she had made during the last few days of holidays. Fred and George let off a couple of fireworks towards nine o' clock, filling the room with bright sparks and smoke, but it didn't bother anyone, they were all used to it. Neville joined the three of them afterwards. He really had changed during the holidays. He was much more outgoing, much less nervous. Harry wondered how it would hold up under Snapes glare, but wasn't too worried.

Towards ten o' clock, the room started to empty. The first years had already gone up shortly after nine. Harry stayed downstairs, reading the book that would be used in Ancient Runes this year. He found it fascinating, and not very difficult. So did Hermione, who asked Harry about the runes that were on his forearms. He still refused to say what they were and what they meant. But if he knew Hermione, he was sure that she would go to the library at the first possible occasion, trying to find out. She would also probably go to see professor Orrune (AN : I invented the name, since it's never mentionned), the Ancient Runes teacher.

It was eleven o' clock when Harry started to feel tired and let off a jaw-breaking yawn. The common-room was almost empty, save for a couple of love-birds that Harry recognized to be in the sixth year. They were in a dark and what they thought discreet corner of the common room. Harry, however, with improved hearing and sight, had no trouble whatsoever to see or hear them, dispite their best efforts. Closing his book and getting up, he made his way towards the stairway that would bring him to the fifth-year boys dorm. Opening the door, he could tell that everyone was asleep, jusging by the slow and regular breathing that could be heard. Silently making his way to his bed, he stripped and dropped his clothes next to his bed, ont even bothering to put them away properly. Putting on his sleeping shorts, he got into bed and prompty fell asleep, mentally preparing for the week of lessons that started tomorrow.

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	14. Chapter 14 : First Day of Lessons

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running.

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read and review :** wquad ( **;)** ), Schulyr (**thanks**), ER (**there you go …**), Jordan, wayne (**fear not, Training Year should be updated in a week**), Blueduck (**Harry/Sarah is a possibility I have considered, especially since they both have big walls to get over, which would take time, and since I have no plans on romance in the beginning of the year …**), john (**Thanks for the compliment. Personnaly, and it's only my opinion, original characters are good because it allows more people to enter the Potterverse. After all, if JKR didn't have any, no Lockhart, no Sirius, no Lupin, and so many more. But that's just my 2 cents ;) **), jay (**a HP book wouldn't be a HP book without some problems ;) **), Rebecca Cecilie (**If you read this, I'm sorry to hear that you feel that way. However, I'm trying to keep her low key for the beginning of the story, since she is new to the school, she couldn't activly take part in any adventures if they were to take place now …**), Corrie, muahahahaha, Elssha, rearea88, fallendruid (**Harry will most probably become an animagus, but what animal will he be ? Suspense … No, not a griffin !!!**), chochang913 (**ta daa**), ALPHA WOLFE (**thanks**), Slimpun604, Takeda Lee (**I'm not so hot on a Harry/Hermione ship, not because I dislike the shipping, but because it's been done so many times, by excellent fanfiction writers which I enjoy reading. Just looking at my fave stories and authors confirms this.**), AGTB13 (**I know it was a bit cliché, but descending from a griffin would explain his name …**), Death-Demon Xero, wayne, corbet666 (**thanks**) and Tasidia (**Thanks. James is the decendant from the griffin humanigus, but couldn't turn into one since the genes were over-ridden with his human genes. Harry can, thanks to the griffin/dragon mix. James turned into a stag because it's the creature that represented him best. You raise a good point with griffin-to-dragon (and vice-versa) transformations, I hadn't considered the point. I'll look into it. Thanks …**).**

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 14

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It was eleven o' clock when Harry started to feel tired and let off a jaw-breaking yawn. The common-room was almost empty, save for a couple of love-birds that Harry recognized to be in the sixth year. They were in a dark and what they thought discreet corner of the common room. Harry, however, with improved hearing and sight, had no trouble whatsoever to see or hear them, dispite their best efforts. Closing his book and getting up, he made his way towards the stairway that would bring him to the fifth-year boys dorm. Opening the door, he could tell that everyone was asleep, judging by the slow and regular breathing that could be heard. Silently making his way to his bed, he stripped and dropped his clothes next to his bed, ont even bothering to put them away properly. Putting on his sleeping shorts, he got into bed and prompty fell asleep, mentally preparing for the week of lessons that started tomorrow.

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"Yipee ! Double Potions with the Slytherins !" Ron gave a long, slow sigh as he looked at the rest of the schedule that he was holding. "Followed by : double Divination, alone."

"Oh come on, Ron. I'll help you find colourful and exotic ways of dying," Harry said before stuffing a whole sausage in his mouth, chewing, and swallowing. Hermione just looked at them.

"You should take something that'll be useful, Ron. Like Arithmancy …"

Harry felt that if she carried on, it would lead to another of the infamous Ron/Hermione arguments they often had. When people knew in advance, they would place bets as to who would have the last word. Needless to say, the odds weren't in the favour of Ron. He didn't bother listening to the rest of the conversation, but shut them off and started to look around the hall. He spotted the teachers talking amonst themselves, save for Snape who was also looking around the hall. Their eyes cross a short while before they continued their scan. If Harry concentrated enough, he could distinguish each individual voice, and tune out those of the people he didn't want to listen to. He would be able to listen to Draco Malfoy from across the hall if he wanted to, but _really_ didn't feel like it, hearing what he was saying and especially the way he was saying it.

"Don't you think, Harry ?" Hermione asked, bringing him back to the present. He span around to face her, another sausage sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

"Whotcho chay ?" he asked, before continuing to chew on what he had in his mouth, his sharp teeth making short work of the meal he was putting away. It wasn't a pretty sight.

"Urgh, never mind …" She turned away. Harry looked at Neville and Seamus, who were watching him.

"What ?" They just shook their heads, Neville saying something that sounded like 'sad', and continued to eat. Ron was presently wolfing down some bacon and drinking pumpkin juice at the same time, and doing neither successfully judging by the trickle of juice and grease that was dripping down his chin. "Ron, eat properly."

"No time, I need to get my strength for Potions," Ron managed to get out between bites. Harry just rolled his eyes.

Ten minutes later, they were heading down the stairs towards the dungeons where Potions was held, after having ran to the Gryffindor common room to get the necessary equipment. Hermione was in the lead with Ron, while Harry was walking next to Neville. They were comparing the information that they had found for their essays, and Harry could see that Neville had put in a lot of work into his. Harry had had the school library at his disposition during a large part of the holidays, and didn't have much more written down compared to Neville. Of course, they probably didn't have as much as Hermione did, but they could give her a run for her money.

As they walked, Harry took the opportunity to look at the rest of his classmates. Concerning the boys, it was Neville who had changed the most. He had grown, lost most, if not all, of his chubbyness, and was looking much more confident. Ron, too, had grown, and but was only an inch taller than Neville who stood at 5'7" (170 cm). Ron didn't have the broadness that Neville had, and had a more wiry frame. Dean was next, a couple of inces smaller than Neville. He wasn't skinny or thin, but didn't really give the impression of having much muscle either. Seamus was the smallest, at least 4 inches smaller than Dean. He was even smaller than some of the girls in the year. He still had some chubbyness in his face, and an obsession with turning water into some alcoholic beverage.

Turning to the girls, he observed that they had almost not changed, character-wise. Hermione was still as bookish, chatting away about the potions essay with Sarah, who was taller than all the boys in the fifth year, Harry excluding. Parvati and Lavender were whispering to each other about some sixth-year Hufflepuff that they found to be incredibly sexy, and were talking about the best way to approach him about getting help in some lesson. However, physically, they had all three (not including Sarah) matured. And underneath their robes, they were visibly young women. Parvati's traits were starting to define themselves more, and she was showing her Indian heritage more clearly. Hermiones hair had lost some of its bushyness, and was more managable now.

They arrived and entered the classroom five mintes before the bell signaling the beggining of lessons. They took their place, Harry pairing up with Neville and Hermione going with Sarah, intent on acting like the ideal prefect outlined in the rulebook. Ron went with Seamus, which was, in Harrys' opinion, a recipe for disaster. Ron wasn't brilliant in potion brewing, and Seamus was more gifted in blowing things up than concocting whatever Snape would have them do. The rest of the Gryffindors entered and took their place, soon followed by the Slytherins. Malfoy was the last one to enter. He had barely sat down when Snape entered the room with the usual flourish of his robes. He walked straight to the front of the room without any form of greeting and started the lesson.

"At the end of this year, you will be taking your OWLs. I shouldn't have to remind you of the importance of passing them, but since most of you are absolutely hopeless in the art, for it _is_ an art, of potion brewing, I have little hope for this class." He paused, letting his eyes wander around the room. They lingered slightly longer on Malfoy, who looked smugly back. "These OWLs will be supervised by 2 teachers as well as myself. The headmaster insists it is so." Malfoy lost a bit of his smugness, since he couldn't rely on Snapes favourtism to get good results if someone else was there observing. "Leave your holiday assignments on your desk, I will pick them up during the course of the lesson. Today, we will be making the Boosting Potion. It increases your physical capabilities for a short time, depending on the concentration of the potion. It requires a very small amount of dragons blood, which you will come to me to get at the necessary time. The potion is on page 146 of your potion books. Now get to work."

With those words, every student started to work. Harry and Neville divided the work of chopping and preparing between them. Once the necessary ingrediants had been dived, ground and whotnot, they started the water boiling. Neville had completely changed : he no longer hesitated with the ingrediants, but confidently placed them in, not spilling any or adding too much accidentally. Snape would occasionnally pass by where they were working and look on. He didn't have anything to say, however, so just threw them his usual sneer and left to annoy someone else. Soon, it was time for them to add the dragons blood. Harry got up and walked to the front where Snape was presently waiting by a jar of thick, red liquid. He was the first who had to get some. Snape didn't say a work as he handed Harry a small cup filled with the liquid. He remembered the long lecture Dumbledore had given him on the importance of keeping Harrys lineage a secret, and Dumbledore trusted him enough to know that he wouldn't say anything. It didn't stop Snape from sneering.

Once the blood had been added, the only thing left to do was to let the potion simmer for about an hour. They both started to read about the potions that were related to this one while waiting, since they guessed that it was a possible subject for any assignment Snape would throw at them. At worst, they would know, in theory, how to make another potion, which was useful in itself. Five minutes later, Hermione was doing the same thing, along with Sarah. Snape also knew of her condition as a werewolf, since he had to brew the wolfsbane potion for her, as per Dumbledores instructions. But she was still safe for a couple of weeks. Harry hoped that Dumbledore would find something to lesson the pain. Lupin had had his friends. Maybe he would let Remus and Sirius accompany her. He was sure she wouldn't like staying in the shrieking shack, no more than Lupin had had to.

Ten minutes later, Rons and Seamus' potion exploded, letting off a large cloud of purple and orange smoke. Snape ranted on for a couple of minutes till 2 Slytherin cauldrons (Crabbe/Goyle and Bullstrode/Parkinson) did exactly the same thing at the almost exact same time. Needless to say, he didn't say another word about it. They were just unlucky that it happened to them first.

The hour was up. Harry stopped the flame that was going under the cauldron, allowing the potion to cool. As it did, it took on a neon blue colour that the book said it had to. Harry took a large vial and poured the potion into it. Placing a stopper, he wrote his name and Nevilles on the label, as well as the potion that was inside before walking towards Snape. Snape took the vial from Harry and held it up to the light.

"Hmmm. Impressive. I should take points away, since you obviously had help from your know-it-all friend miss Granger …"

"Which is why we finished before her," Harry interrupted.

"… but instead I'll remove them for interrupting a teacher. 5 points from Gryffindor. You may go back to your place."

Harry took a calming breath and turned around, walking slowly back to his seat. Neville had seen the exchange of words and just shook his head at Harry when Snape wasn't looking. "Any excuse," Harry whispered, and Neville nodded vigorously in agreement. Shortly afterwards, Hermione finished and bottled her potion before presenting it to the teacher. He couldn't find any fault with it, but didn't give her anyhing other than his trademark sneer. She would have wanted to say something, but knew better, so she contented herself by walking calmly back to her seat.

The bell indicating the end of Potions rang. "For next week. Research 3 potions with similar effects. I want history, ingrediants, instructions, drawbacks and general information on them. Minimum 1 roll per potion, but no more than 3 per potion (looking at Hermione when he said this last part of the sentance). Class dismissed." Neville and Harry looked at each other and grinned. They had guessed correctly, and had already read up on some of the potions that they would doubtlessly cite in their essays.

Ron glumly gathered his belongings and started his way towards the divination classroom, while Harry, Hermione and Sarah, the only students in Gryffindor not to take divination, walked back to their common room. Harry was also carrying Nevilles and Rons cauldron and potion ingrediants, so that they didn't have to lug everything to divination. He would have taken more, but he only had 2 arms, and had to carry his own stuff aswell.

Hermione ranted about different ideas and points of view that she could use for her essay. Harry just patiently listened, not saying a word, although he doubted he would manage to get a word in even if he tried, and did his best not to overbalance and spill anyones ingrediants. They arrived, after a ten-minute walk, before the fat lady that indicate the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. They entered, Hermione walking up the stairs that lead to the girls dorms while Harry made his way to his own dorms, dropping Nevilles and Rons cauldrons on their respective beds. Looking at his schedule, he saw that they had double Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs that afternoon.

Harry took his potions book, some parchment, ink and a quil before heading back down to the common room. Hermione still hadn't come down, or had already left, so Harry took a seat near the window and started his potions essay. Snape was bad enough, and he was pretty nasty with his essays, so Harry wanted to get it over and done with. He briefly wondered if Hermione would manage to keep her essay within the limits, since her philosophy was to put everything down. He supposed she could try and write smaller, that was already an option. He noticed Sarah was sitting in a dark corner of the common room, nose in a book, and looked like she didn't want to be disturbed.

Harry had covered one potion, taking almost 2 and a half rolls, when the bell indicating the end of lessons rang. In about 5 minutes, the rest of the Gryffindorw would eneter the room, to deposit their books and head to lunch. Harry gathered up his belongings and brought them up to his room, placing them carefully in his trunk since the ink hadn't completely dried off yet. He went back down and found Hermione sitting in a couch in front of the fireplace. Since the weather was still warm, there was no need of having a fire going during the day, although it was often lit during evenings. She was staring absent-mindedly into the fireplace.

"Hermione ?"

She jumped, startled out of her daydreaming and looked around. Her eyes settled on Harry, and she calmed down, giving a sigh of relief. "Hi Harry."

"Are you okay ?" he asked conceredly. She had looked rather frightened when he had said her name.

"I'm fine, really. Just, thinking …" Anything else she wanted to say was cut of as a stream of students entered the common room. Harry could have cursed them, since he was slightly worried about Hermione. It wasn't like her to be so quiet. But she was stubborn, and if he tried to force anything out of her, she would just retreat deeper into her shell. Harry recognized Rons voice over the crowd, saying something that sounded like 'daft bat', followed by two 'Harumphs' that probably came from Parvati and Lavender, who practically worshipped the ground professor Trelawney walked on.

Ron entered the common room, followed be the rest of the Gryffindor fifth-years. "Hey Ron, how'd it go ?" Harry asked. Ron walked over to where he and Hermione were sitting.

"Like always. She said that her inner eye had told her that you wouldn't be comming back and that you had met you fate before Neville mentionned that you had just dropped her course for Ancient Runes. She said 'I knew that' and told us to how to read our destiny with chickens guts, although (and here he took the teachers lofty and spooky voice and waved his arms in the air) _people with great destinies require creatures of greater power_." Putting his arms down, he said, "she's really mental."

"You just say that because you're not a true seer," Parvati said as she passed, flanked by Lavender as they went to leave the common room and go down for lunch.

"Whatever. So, let's go to lunch," Ron said. Harry nodded.

"Yep. I'll just go get my Transfiguration book in my dorm, then we'll be off." Harry got up and ran up the stairs, avoiding the odd student that was comming down. Getting his book, he put it in his bag and checked to make sure he had sufficient parchment for the afternoons lesson. He slung his bag over his shoulder and ran back downstairs. Ron and Hermione were waiting for him next to the entrance, and they went down to lunch.

The hall was practically full when they arrived. The odd student tried to sneak a look at Harry as he entered. He had hoped that everyone had had their look during the weekend, but it wasn't enough for some apparently. And it was always the first or second years who continued to look. The other students knew Harry much better. They had been here when he had fought for the philosopher's stone, against the basilik, dementors, and the tri-wizard tournament. The younger years had had none of that, or been denied the most basic of accounts of what had happened. Sure, Dumbledore had sent letters to parents, had said what had happened at the end of last yars parting feast. But it wasn't necessarily enough.

Harry just ignored the few looks he received. He walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down where there was space. Hermione sat down next to him, while Ron walked around the table and sat down opposite. They were seated next to their fellow fifth-years. The boys were talking about quidditch, while Parvati and Lavender were whispering about what they had learnt in Divination. Harry tried to tune them out, but caught the words 'fall in love' and 'tall and handsome' in their whispers. He quickly tuned them out, really not whanting to know where the rest of their conversation was going to go.

Ron had now joined the quidditch conversation now. He was stoutly defending the Chuddley Cannons, while Seamus was rooting for the Midtown Magpies (AN : I invented them, sue me ;) ). Dean was trying to turn the conversation to football, but was fighting a loosing battle with them. Neville was just listening intently. He still didn't seem mad about flying, but still listened carefully as Ron exclaimed that his team was better while Seamus affirmed the same. Harry didn't even want to venture into that conversation. Hermione was reading the transfiguration book that would be used for the fifth year open, and was reviewing what she had already read about 3 times. Harry just concentrated on eating his food, as was Sarah who was seated next to Hermione.

"So, Sarah, how did you enjoy potions ?" he asked politely.

"It was okay, I suppose. But he didn't seem as bad as you lot described him though," she answered.

"No. That surprised me too, actually. Maybe today was a good day. He did manage to take a few points from Gryffindor, though."

"Yeah, but you described a monster."

"No, that was Rons description. I described someone who did gross favourtism towards house Slytherin, and put down Gryffindors as much as possible."

"Yeah. I heard what he said to you. It was pretty unfair."

"You heard, over the noise and being at the back of the room. You must have good hearing."

Sarah shruged before going back to her mear. Harry had realized that she had better hearing, being a werewolf. But the less slip-ups she made, the longer she could keep her secret. As long as Hermione didn't get enough clues. She was the smarter one, and would have less trouble finding out.

The rest of lunch passed quickly. Harry was finally dragged into the boys conversation about quidditch, while Hermione and Sarah chatted about transfiguration. Hermione spoke about the kind of stuff they had had to do during their first four years, while Sarah spoke about the things she had been tested on by Harry.

The end of lunch arrived. The Gryffindors got up as one body and walked out of the hall, the fifth-years went up to the Transfiguration classroom. It was already open, so they went straight in and took their places. Hermione insisted they take places near the front, and Harry and Ron followed her as she sent to sit in the front row. All the Gryffindors were seated when the Hufflepuffs walked in. They silently took their seats and waited patiently.

"Good afternoon, class," Mcgonagall said as she entered the classroom. "As you know, this year you will be having your OWLs." A couple of groanscould be heard. Harry turned and looked at Hermione and, sure enough, her eyes were shining in anticipation, hanging on every word Mcgonagall was saying. "You will doubtlessly notice that your teachers will be giving you more work, since it will help you to prepare." She then proceded to tell them how the exams would go, that 2 teachers would be present and that a task would be held, chosen randomly out of a list of possible tasks of equal difficulty. There would also be a written part, with questions about how to do basic transfiguration, and the dangers of doing so. Her explainations took slightly over half an hour, in which people took notes and did nothing else.

The rest of the lesson was taking notes about the dangers of transforming an animal into its enemy, such as turning a cat into a mouse and vice-sersa, that they had to force their will upon the creature, and many other different steps and precautions. The bell rang none too soon, as almost everyone was starting to get cramps from all the writing. They left the classroom. Ron was massaging his fingers, trying to get some feeling back, while Hermione spoke in exited tones about all the interesting things they were going to be learning this year in transfiguration. Since the rest of the Gryffindors were immune to her ranting, she fell back onto Sarah. Sarah listened politely. She would smile and nod every now and again.

They walked back towards the Gryffindor tower. Ron just wanted to put his stuff away and enjoy the rest of the free time they had. They counted themselves lucky, since Mcgonagall hadn't given them any homework other than to read what notes they had already taken. It was an easy assignment. Harry had taken quite a few notes, almost as many as Hermione. Rons cramp had prevented him from taking as many, but Harry didn't mind passing him his notes. Sarah hadn't managed to take all that many notes either, Harry noticed. She probably just wasn't used to the way Mcgonagall gave her lessons. But she would learn. It was imossible not to, since Mcgonagall expected every student to give their all for her lessons.

Neville was the surprise. He had managed to follow quite nicely, Harry noticed. They were now in the common room. Ron was contentedly reading a book on quidditch, while Harry just wanted to get Mcgonagalls work out of the way. Neville, Sarah, Hermione and himself had requisited a table to the side, away from the noise and chatter of the other students. They were comparing notes, with Sarah making additionnal comments to her work. Neville, also, made good use of the space he had left in his margins. Harry just had to correct several spelling mistakes, and erased a couple of words to rewrite them and make them readable. Hermione, of course, had nothing to add, change, correct or redo. Harry marveled at how she could take so many notes, yet write in a perfectly neat and organized manner. It was almost mind-boggling.

After half an hour, they were all content with the notes they had. As far as Harry was concerned, he was done with Transfiguration for today, although Ron would doubtlessly come to him in a day or 2 to get his notes, except if he borrowed Hermiones instead. After all, you would have to be pretty blind if you didn't notice that Ron had at least a crush on the girl. And needless to say, Hermione Granger, smartest witch to grace Hogwarts, was completely oblivious to it all.

They still had about 3 hours before lunch. Harry decided to finish another potion for Snape, getting that out of the way. He wondered if any other students would want help. Hermione certainly didn't need it, but she would be a good tutor, since she already helped different people from diufferent years and in different houses. He himself wasn't too bad in potions, or any other lesson, for that matter. Neville was a whizz in Herbology, but nigh on hopeless in Potions and general spellcasting. And Harry knew that Ron was bordering on 'disaster' when it came to potion-brewing. Neville had gone up to the boys dorm, and Sarah was sitting at another table, reviewing her notes for Ancient Runes, which was the next day. Hermione and Harry were still at the same table, since Hermione was going through Transfiguration one last time … for the day.

"Hermione ?"

"What ?"

"What say we start some sort of study group. Those who are stronger can help those who are weaker in a certain subject."

"It's a good idea. What were you thinking ?"

"Well, obviously, you would need no help in any lesson. But it wouldn't be fair for you to help everyone. Nevilles brilliant in herbology, I'm good everywhere. Well, I was 'before', and I'm better since." He didn't have to give any details as to what he was refering to when he said 'before'. And the headmaster had told him that he was more powerful magically since his transformation. "I could do DADA and Ancient Runes. Neville, if he agrees, will do Herbology. Parvati is good in Astronomy, and she and Lavender will doubtlessly want to tutor Divination." Hermione rolled her eyes at this, but refrained from commenting. "And you could help in Transfiguration, Arithmancy and History of Magic. I think that's everything covered."

"Care of magical creatures." Hermione remarked.

"True. Erm, Ron isn't too bad. Modesty aside, I'm better, but I don't want him feeling left out."

"Harry ?"

"Hmm ?"

"I said it before and I'll say it again : you should have been a prefect."

"Maybe. But if I was, I wouldn't be able to get into so much trouble," he said with a grin. She swatted him, but had a smile on her face. "I'll talk to everyone concerned, then we can go and talk to Mcgonagall."

"Good idea."

Harry got up. He first went to Ron. He seemed slightly fearful at the idea of teaching, but Harry said he would help him if he wanted, so he agreed. Parvati and Lavender were exited at the possibility of tutoring Divination and mentionned something about seeing it in their chicken guts. Harry just left it at that, and went to see Neville. The boy was thrilled. It was his chance to proove that he was good at something. Walking down to the common room, he nodded to Hermione, who stood up and followed him out of the common room.

They talked about where they could hold the extra tutoring, which years thay could include, and the like. They finally settled on concentrating on the fifth-years, and could get a free classroom with Mcgonagalls assent, if she agreed to the idea. They arrived at the teachers lounge, and Hermione knocked on the door. It opened, and professor Sinitra, the astronomy teacher, looked into the corridor.

"Yes ?"

"We were wondering if professor Mcgonagall was here." Hermione was polite and straight to the point.

"Yes, she is." Turning into the classroom, she called, "Minerva, students to see you."

Harry and Hermione could hear footsteps crossing the room. Harry knew the layout pretty well, since he had been inside the room on several occasions. Mcgonagall opened the door wider and stepped out into the corridor, closing the door behind her. "You wished to speak to me ?"

"Yes professor. Harry here had the idea of starting a study group, for those who have troubles in certain lessons." She then proceded to give a brief summary of what they had discussed, who would tutor what, and the like. Mcgonagall listened attentivly.

"But isn't it a bit restrictive, helping just fifth-years ?"

"Not necessarily, processor. By restricting it to only those of our year, it means we all see the same material, which will be difficult with people of different years. And they can hold their own study groups. Not forgetting that we have OWLs this year, meaning less time to studt for them if we start tutoring the younger years. Of course, we will be available if a particular student has a lot of trouble in a certain lesson, but that is the exception, not the rule," Harry smootly answered. Hermione nodded in consent, and the transfiguration teachers stern demeanor didn't falter during his little _tirade_. However, once he finished, she gave them one of her rare smiles.

"I find it to be an excellent idea. You should try to speak to the other years, encourage them to do likewise. I will grant you the use of the transfiguration classroom every evening after dinner, from eight till ten , with a limit of returning to your common room by quarter past ten. You will have to have a list of those who attend each individual session, with an inscription the week before and a check whether the person is present or not. The classroom will be available from Mondays to Saturdays. Do you have an idea what will be taught on what days ?"

"Not yet, professor. We wanted to have your accord before detailing."

"Yes. And is it open to only Gryffindors ?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. It was Harry that answered "While the idea was to allow only Gryffindors at first, there should be ne trouble in allowing other students to come. But the student leading the session should be allowed temporary teacher-status to allow him to deal with trouble-makers if it is to become inter-house tutoring sessions. Although several people should be consulted if the need arrises of removing someone from a certain session. They may even want to teach a particular course. As it is, we have nobody tutoring Muggle studies, although and muggle-born or muggle-raised should be enough."

Mcgonagall gave a nod of approval. "Very well. As of next week, you will have my classroom as arranged. I will talk to the other heads of house. I will talk to you both in a couple of days time. Since the idea originated with you, you should have the final say, belong on the tutoring comitee, so to say. I admit that the idea has already crossed my mind, but no student has ever brough the idea to completion. Hopefully, this year will be different. That is all."

"Thank you professor," Hermione said as their head of house entered the teachers lounge. As soon as the door closed, Hermione gave an excited squeal. "Harry, this is brilliant. It might bring us extra credit."

"Harry just rolled his eyes as they headed back to the common room, Hermione already runnng though possible subjects that she could teach during her sessions …

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Dinner was a pleasent affair. Half-way through, Fred and George came over to tell Harry to meet the rest of the quidditch team after dinner in Mcgonagalls classroom. Harry just nodded and enjoyed the rest of his dinner. Small bowls with more of Freds and georges sweets appeared, and Neville once again fell for it. Lucky for him, he took a red one, which lasted for the shortest time. He grinned sheepishly, but wasn't the only one to fall for it again.

After dinner, Harry joined the rest of his house team while they made their way up towards the transfiguration classroom. He talked with Katie along the way. She was a seventh-year, just like all the other players on the team. She was the one Harry got along the best with,. Although they rarely had opportunities to just sit down and talk, they often took the time during quidditch practices or in the Gryffindor common room. Other than the Weasley twins, she was the first one to congratulate Harry for making the team, and would sometimes just observe him as he flew to give him pointers to improve. She was, needless to say, very intrigued about Harrys changes. He felt a bit bad about saying it was due to a abrupt magical growth spurt, since it wasn't the truth, even if it wasn't a lie, either. He considered telling her the truth, but wouldn't do so yet, and if he did, woudl do so somewhere much more private.

They arrived at Mcgonagalls classroom, and found the door open. Entering, they say the teacher sitting at her desk. They entered and walked over, standing before her desk.

"Very well. I counted your vote for captain. It was a draw, between Angelina and Harry."

"So what happens then, professor ?" Fred asked.

"What do you two think ?" she asked, looking at Angeline then Harry. It was Harry who spoke.

"I think Angelina should be captain, and I'll be vice-captain, taking over next year. Trouble follows me around too much for me to be captain, and I have OWLs as well as tutoring sessions. And I'm sure that she'll be a very capable captain."

Mcgonagall looked at Angelina. "Any objections ?" Angelina looked at Harry, and shook her head. "Very well. Tryouts will take place this Saturday morning at the quidditch pitch, at nine o' clock. You will be expected as of half past eight. That is all." With that, the team left the room. Angelina thanked Harry for leaving her the position, and he assured her that he meant what he said. Fred and George lifted heronto their shoulders, and kept her there all the way to their common room. Upon entering, they loudly declared the good news, and a party followed that lasted till eleven, when Mcgonagall came and put an end to it.

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Authors Notes : That's it. Thanks again to all who reviewed. The next chapter should again be along in 2 to 3 weeks. As always, reviews, comments, questions and the like are appreciated.


	15. Chapter 15 : First Weeks Lessons

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. Took a bit longer than what I thought, sorry about that.

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read and review :** chaser, epholge (**nope, I'm afraid**), Jordan, Angelis, Arizosa, bookwrm580, Kate, wquad, CitriusBabe, corbet666, Alexandria (**he might have to during the story**), syd (**for the moment, she is just tagging along. She's new to the school and her lessons, so she's just starting her Hogwarts adventure**), Ael L. Bolt (**ARGH, caught red handed !! You're right about the quidditch team, I knew there was a team with 'Magpies' in it, but couldn't remember the rest of the name, so I found a word starting with 'M' that sounded good.**), chaser, fantasydima (**I wonder the same thing myself. Tell your sister 'thanx'**), jay (**Neville just had the chance to work his magic alone, without the pressure of other students, teachers and house points, not forgetting the fact that a parent ou grandparent congratulating you is better encouragement. Plus like I mentionned during the story, someones magic will change as they get older, improving certain domains. I made his that way because for me, Neville could do so much better with a new attitude, if he could just have some confidence in himself instead of belittling himself.**), Corrie, PhoenixMan, luke-6622427 (**I will probably never write slash, it's not my thing, and have a good sleep ;). Harry cares about Ron as a friend, and also doesn't want his changes to affect his friendship with his best friends, so makes sure neither of them is left out.**), JerseyGirl03, Skysong (**Old Voldie is still recovering, he'll show his uglt face soon enough. I like the Harry/Katie pairing, but I'm reserving it for another fic I have going**), icedrake (**Sarah's transformation is in a week, if I have my dates right (I have to double-check that)**) and kamahpfan (**I modeled the new Harry on myself *coughs uncontrollably, rolls around on the floor, chocking* Only kidding.**).**

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 15

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"I think Angelina should be captain, and I'll be vice-captain, taking over next year. Trouble follows me around too much for me to be captain, and I have OWLs as well as tutoring sessions. And I'm sure that she'll be a very capable captain."

Mcgonagall looked at Angelina. "Any objections ?" Angelina looked at Harry, and shook her head. "Very well. Tryouts will take place this Saturday morning at the quidditch pitch, at nine o' clock. You will be expected as of half past eight. That is all." With that, the team left the room. Angelina thanked Harry for leaving her the position, and he assured her that he meant what he said. Fred and George lifted her onto their shoulders, and kept her there all the way to their common room. Upon entering, they loudly declared the good news, and a party followed that lasted till eleven, when Mcgonagall came and put an end to it.

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"Today, we will be starting the study of disguising charms, as was the subject of the summer essay." The squeaky voice of their charms professor could easily be heard in the class, since everyone was silent, listening to the words of the teacher. Charms was a general lesson, meaning that most people, on average, didn't have too hard a time compleating the assignments given and managing the practical lessons. Lessons like potions required a lot of precision and a good sense of timing, as well as observation. DADA required quickness of mind and reflexes to deal with different situations. Herbology, History of Magic and Astronomy required study and a good memory. Transfiguration required visualisation and willpower. Charms, however, required nothing in particular. Which was why most people liked the lesson, as well as the ever-cheerful attitude of professor Flitwick.

Harry remembered the essay, asking about detailed instructions about 4 basic disguising charms from a list given at the end of the year, minimum half a roll of parchment per spell. Looking at his, he remembered spending several hours in the library going over the different spells that were on the list, and choosing those where there was the most to say about them. He had completed four and a half rolls. Looking at Ron, he had 3 rolls on his desk, and Hermione had at least 5 rolls neatly placed on the corner of her desk. Neville had 4 rolls, since he had had permission to do magic during the holidays, he had been able to write about effects first hand, and what goes wrong when you do the spell wrong, something Neville admitted happened several times before he got the hang of it.

"Today, we will be doing the Oculix charm, which alters the eyes. You have to visualize the effect you want, whether its just to change the colour or maybe even have eyes like a cats. But remember, it's an illusion. Giving your eyes the appearance of cats eyes will not give you the ability to see better in the dark. To have that kind of effect requires another spell or that you transfigure your eyes." The small professor waved his wand, and everyones holiday assignments flew from where they had been placed on the desks to the teachers desk, landing in a neat and orderly pile next to his desk. "Very well, you may pair up and test your spells. First on yourself, and then on your partner."

They were having lessons with the Ravenclaws, giving Hermione the choice between trying to imporve inter-house association or helping the new transfer student. After a short yet intense period of reflection, Hermione went to Sarah. Ron went with a boy from Ravenclaw, and Harry went with Neville. He knew that Neville could du better than what people thought, that his only problem was a lack of confidence. But with enough encouragement, he could do much better. "You ready, Neville ?"

"Yeah. A bit nervous though. I shouldn't be, since I managed to do the spell at home. But still …"

"Don't worry about it. Take a deep breath, relax, and do your best. No one can say anything as long as you try."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"And remember, visualization is the key."

Neville grinned, before his face became a mask of determination. He brought his wand up to eye level, tip just in front of his eye, and determinedly whispered the words "Occulare". A faint yellow light emerged from the tip of his wand and went into his eye. A second later, the light faded. In place of Nevilles usual brown eye was a yellow cats eye.

"Neville, what were you aiming to do ?" Harry asked, just to be sure.

"A yellew cats eye. Did it work ?"

Harry gave him a broad grin. "Meow, pffft …" he said, making cat swipes at Nevilles wand. "It suits you. Do the same for your other eye, you could pass off as one of madame Hooch's relatives."

"Only as long as I don't get on a broom. Still don't have the hang of them." Waving his wand across his eye, he removed the illusion. "Your turn."

"Okay. Erm, what should I do to them ?"

"Well, you already have a cattish eye. How about just changing the colour to something extravagent. Purple, or gold, something like that."

Harry gave a small nod, before raising his wand to his eye as Neville had just done. He whispered the spell, and a purple light came out of his wand tip. He could feel the magic on his eye, but could feel some sort of resistance, as if the magic was slipping of his eye or being pushed off it. He had to concentrate to allow it to permeate his eye, and felt like he was dropping some protection to allow the magic to take hold. A couple of seconds later, the purple light stopped. "Well ?"

"Purple doesn't suit you, I'm afraid."

"What about the golden flecks ?"

Neville leaned in, and looked closer. "They're not all that visible. They are there, but you have to look to find them."

"Maybe I visualized them too discreet," Harry said, although he suspected it was more due to his natural resistance to magic. He removed the charm, and looked around. Ron was now with his completely pink, even the white of the eye, while the other was a fluorescent green. Hermiones brown eyes were now a mixture of gold and silver, with a pretty marble effect where the 2 colours mix but remain seperated. Sarah had chosen to avoid extravagence, having one brown eye and one green, both common eye colours, and different from her usual ocean-blue. "Ready to try it on me ?"

"Only if you're ready to be my guinnea pig."

"Ready."

Neville raised his wand, and pointed it into Hrrys eye, the tip resting about 2 inches away. He whispered the charm, and a pale blue light emerged. Once again, Harry felt the tingling, and he once again had to allow the spell to 'stick', as it were, to him. He light faded. "Well ?"

"Not bad. Paler than what I wanted, but not bad."

"How do I look with blue eyes ?" he asked, covering the non-charmed eye with one hand.

Neville shrugged. "Okay, I suppose. 4 years of seeing you with green eyes makes it seem a bit strange, though. Truth be told, I'm still no yet used to you as being a mountainof muscles, either, but I'll get there …"

"Welcome to the strange world of Harry Potter. Anyway, my turn," Harry said, not removing the illusion spell. Raising his wand, he imagined a glowing purple eye and whispered the charm. Again, a purple light, but brighter than his first attempt. Once the light faded, he observed the effect. Nevilles eye was now completely purple, even the white, and shining relatively brightly. Harry wondered if it would be possible to read by that light.

"Harry, is that normal ?" Neville asked, waving his hand in front of his eye and noticing that his hand would colour purple.

"Just as I wanted it."

"Excellent, boys," came the professors voice from somewhere around their knees. "5 points to Gryffindor for your progress, Longbottom. Potter, did you visualize that effect ?"

"Yes sir. Useful for reading at night."

"Very good. It takes a lot more power to be able to give that property to the spell. Not many people are able to. 10 points for Gryffindor." He walked off to check up on the others, and Harry heard him say that Hermione had good taste in eye colours.

"Wow, Harry, you must be pretty powerful to be able to do that."

"Yeah, suppose …"

*****************************************************************************************

"Good morning class, and welcome back to Ancient Runes. We have 2 new students with us. Mister Potter and miss Winslow, since you have not followed my lessons, I will be giving you a roll with different texts that we have seen. I will ask you to translate them as best you can during the lesson. I will be grading them. This lesson will just be an explaination of the different runes we will be seeing during this year, so you will not have anything to catch up on."

'No nonsence' was Harrys thought, as he took the parchment that was handed him which, in his opinion, often equated to 'no fun'. Both he and Sarah had been placed at the rear of the class for their evaluation, while the teacher gave the usual lesson, which, Harry heard, was really nothing more than explaining what they would be seeing during the course of the year. Harry had very little trouble translating his text, and was soon finished, but double-checked to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He glanced over at Sarah, and saw that she seemed to be doing pretty well. He didn't stare, since he would be accused of cheating. Looking around the classroom, he saw charts of Runes and their equivalents, copies of walls and texts written in some form of rune. Several Harry could read, since they were part of the curriculum of the 2 previous years, and several that weren't.

At the back was a small set of shelves containing different reference works on runes. A couple seemed to have been written by the teacher himself.

The end of the lesson was signaled by the ringing of a bell, and the few students to follow the lesson got up and left. Sarah handed her roll of parchment to the teacher before gathering her belongings and exiting the class. Hermione had packed her things and was waiting for Harry. It was just before lunch, and she, as well as Harry, was hungry. Harry walked to the front with his roll of parchment and handed it to the teacher. Since it was hot, he had rolled the sleeves of his robes up slightly, cooling him, but revealing his muscular and tatooed forearms. The teacher noticed the runes on his arms.

" Mister Potter, are those runes you have on your arms ?"

"Yes sir."

"May I … have a look ?"

Harry rolled the sleeves up further, uncovering both his forearms completely, and held out his arms, allowing the teacher to observe in better detail. He wasn't really happy, since it was sure to bring him even more attention.

"Did you invent these ?"

"No sir."

"I must admit that I've never seen some quite like these before. Where did you learn this ?"

"These …" he said, pointing to the dragonic runes of his left arm …" come from Hungry, while these …" pointing to the griffonic runes "… come from Eygpt."

"I've seen quite a few Egyptian runes before, never these. What does it mean ?"

"I'm afraid I cannot say, professor." Harry said, hoping the teacher would drop the subject. He couldn't exactly explain that they were of a non-human origin, it would make too much trouble.

"Yes, I understand. Many runes were created for secrecy. I assume you do know what they mean."

"Yes sir."

"Hmmm, very interesting. And can you read the runes that they were written in, or just what's written on your arms ?"

"I can read and write it fluently, sir."

"Hmmm. In that case, you shouldn't have any trouble in this class. Very well, you may go."

Harry grabbed his bag and left the class behind Hermione. As he drew level, he noticed her thoughtful face. "What are you thinking about, Hermione ?"

"Well, I was hoping the teacher knew the runes, since you didn't tell us what it meant and I didn't find anything in the library."

"I seriously doubt that you'll find anything in the library, even in the restricted section. But miracles do happen," he said jokingly, as they entered the great hall for lunch …

*****************************************************************************************

Harry was in the common room, sitting in front of the fire, working of his charms homework. Flitwick hadn't given much, since they had had only one lesson so far. He had almost finished, and was quite happy with it. Needless to say, Hermlione had already finished, doing twice as much more than what Flitwick had asked for, cross-referencing at least 3 different books on charms. It was just after dinner. Harry hadn't stayed when it was over, but had come back quite quickly. The majority of the Gryffindor house was there, the rest relaxing in their dorms, although it was likely that Fred and George Weasley were somewhere in the castle, setting up some prank or raiding the kitchen.

"Hey Harry."

Harry looked up to see who was calling him. It was Hermione, who was walking across the common room. Since the entrance portrait was closing, Harry guessed that she had just entered the room.

"I was talking with some of the students from Ravenclaw, and a couple from Hufflepuff. They read the announce about the extra tutoring lessons."

"Oh, right. I forgot that Mcgonagall was going to speak to the other teachers about it. And what did they say ?" he asked, leaning back and cracking his neck by moving it left and right.

"Well, 3 students from Ravenclaw were interested, and 5 from Hufflepuff. I wrote their names down," she said, taking a roll of parchment from her pocket. "Plus, Padma Patil, from Ravenclaw, noticed that we didn't get anyone to tutor Potions."

"We didn't ? " Harry leant back, mentally ticking of the lessons which had a tutor. She was right.

"Nope. So she offered to do so. She's one of the top students in her year, and since she isn't a Slytherin, her points are most probably justified."

Whilst Harry didn't doubt that some in Slytherin had a talent for Potions, Severes Snape, house of Slytherin, would give those from his house a good score, even if they failed their potion. He knew that Draco Malfoy wasn't bad, but could be much better if he worked harder and actually applied himself instead of counting of the teachers favourtism. He himself had a respectable score, considering he was a Gryffindor and the son of one of Snape's schoolday enemies, so his real score was probably even higher. And that was before his extra tutoring, which helped him even more. Needless to say, despite being in Gryffindor, Hermione was top of the year. Although that was the case in almost every lesson. But not DADA. _THAT_, was Harry's speciality. Although he hadn't been far behind her their previous years for the other lessons.

"That's good. If there's enough interest, we could ask professor Snape if he could let us have the potions classroom for the extra tutoring lessons. Have any Slytherin asked for extra lessons ?"

"Malfoy started to say something about the other houses needing them, but didn't say anything else since Mcgonagall came over …"

"Typical."

"But Blaise Zabini and Morag Mcdougal came and seemed genuinely interested. And they were polite in asking."

"Well, truth be told, they're probably the only fifth-year Slytherins that aren't death eater material. Don't even get me started on the others, Malfoy in particular, but those 2 girls are nice enough."

"Yeah. I drew up a possible schedule, since I now I have the names of everyone who's interested in the tutoring, along with the lessons they're interested in. I wanted to run it by you before showing it to Mcgonagall."

"Is that necessary ? I'm sure you did a good job of it."

Hermione blushed slightly at the praise. "Yeah. But you should look it over. You were the one who had the idea in the first place."

"If you insist. Hand it over."

"Hermione dew a roll of parchment from her pocket and handed it to Harry, who opened it and started to read. "Wow, a lot of people are asking for help in DADA."

"Yeah, but with what's happening …" she trailed off. Harry was the person least likely who needed to be reminded of Voldemorts return, since he had unwillingly donated some of his blood to allow his return.

"Yeah. It doesn't hurt, at any rate. Okay, looks good. If Mcgonagall approves, you'll have to give copies of this to the people who are giving the lesson and those who are getting the extra tutoring. One more copy for Mcgonagall, and that's it."

"We could have a copy hanging in the Transfiguration classroom, since that's where the lessons will be."

"Yeah, good idea. It's a good thing you put Ron at the end of the week, it'll give him more time to prepare."

"Also, Mcgonagall said that the student giving the lesson would be given assistant-teacher status during the time they give the lesson, meaning that they note if people start acting up, and present it to her afterwards, and she will decide whether points have to be given, removed, or even detection, plus points cannot be removed from the teacher during the time they give the lesson except if several students make a detailed complaint."

"Good. We should also try to have something so that people can join for just one lesson if they missed it or something like that. Something like going to see the person giving the lesson and arranging it with them."

"That seems logical. All right, I'll bring this to Mcgonagall. You wanna come ?"

"Sure. Let's bring Ron, too. He's a prefect, and one of the teachers."

"Okay. He's in the boys dorm. Bring your stuff back to your room and grab him, I'll wait for you next to the common-room entrance."

With that, Harry got up, gathered his things, and made his way to the stairway leading to the boys dorms …

*****************************************************************************************

Midnight. A magic moment. They say the hours spent before midnight count double, bringing you a deeper and more refreshing sleep. Which is precisely why the whole fifth year was in the astronomy tower, one of the highest points in the castle.

The lesson : astronomy, although that was painfully obvious just by the name of where they were standing. They couldn't exactly hold the lessons during the day, since that removed the whole _raison d'être_ (Litt. Translation : reason of being) of the lessons, which was to recognize stars and the like. It was considered a minor course by the majority of the students, starting at 11 o' clock and finishing at 1 in the morning. They rarely had homework other than drawing star charts, reciting the history behind certain stars or constelations, or identifying another portion of the sky.

The teacher, professor Sinistra, was presently pointing out a small group of stars and describing the structure of it. Most people had their telescope pointed towards the stars, others were taking notes. Hermione seemed to be doing both, leaving Harry wondering how she managed to do so.

Sarah was the person standing closest to the teacher. Harry remembered that it was her best subject. The fact it was her favourite subject was no coincidence. It wasn't Harrys favourite subject, but it wasn't boring, so he still paid pretty good attention to what the teacher was saying.

"… And that concludes the Andromedia star cluster," concluded professor Sinistra. Harry thought she must have a hard job in a way. While she didn't have any work to do whatsoever during the day, her lessons always had to take place very late at night. Harry briefly wondered whet she did during the day, if she stayed at Hogwarts or if she lived somewhere else. "Now, pop quizz. Every correct answer will earn one house point, whereas every bad answer will remove one house point." Looking around at the students, she pointed to Padma Patil. "Miss Patil, name that star," she said, pointing to a star in the sky.

"North star."

"Correct. One point to Ravenclaw. Mister Potter, that one," she said, pointing to the brightest star.

"Sirius, the dog star." How could he not know that one.

"Very good. One point for Gryffindor. Mister Malfoy, name the three stars that are on orions belt."

Malfoy blanched at this. He had absolutely no idea. "Erm, I don't know, miss."

"Pity. Three points from Slytherin. One for each star." Malfoy seethed at this. "Miss Winslow, can you give me their names ?"

And she did. (AN : this is my way of saying that I have no idea as to their names, sorry …).

"Very good. 3 points to Gryffindor."

She continued like this, and only finished once she had asked each person 2 questions. Every house gained points, except for Slytherin who gained none, but didn't lose any either, thanks to Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise and Mcdougal, who managed to get the points that Malfoy and Parkinson lost when making mistakes for pretty big questions.

Folding up his telescope, Harry started to make his way down to the Gryffindor common room. He yawned wide open, bringing tears to his eyes.

"Don't do that. Seeing people yawn makes me yawn."

He blinked his tears away to see Sarah looking at him, tears in her own eyes. "Well, I can't help it if I'm irresistable." Harry heard a snort behind him that he identified as Rons. "Shut up, Ron."

"That's right Harry, flash the Potter charm," Ron said as he passed, grinning and giving Harry a sly wink.

"Jealous prat."

"Oooh, that hurt."

"You're in for a brutal awakening tomorrow, mate."

"You and who's army ?"

"Don't need an army for a wimp like yourself."

Their friendly bickering continued all the way to their common rooms, while all the Gryffindor girls stayed behind to talk about the different boys in their year, as well as of several who weren't …

*****************************************************************************************

"Right. Follow me, you lot." Hagrids voice boomed, even though he wasn't talking much louder than normal. The fifth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins were standing outside Hagrids hut for their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson of the year. Hagrid had started by explaining about the OWLs, although he didn't say more than they would have 2 teachers and that it would include a year-long project to be started soon and an exam of handling a randomly picked creature.

As usual, the whole class was wary of whatever creature Hagrid would present them today, as well as for the rest of the year Hagrid was a half-giant, and had a notion of what was dangerous and what wasn't that was different to other peoples. He would describe hippogriffs as 'cute' and 'cuddly', and named a giant cerberus 'Fluffy'. Harry, Ron and Hermione had met the three-headed dog during their first year, and their first thought definitely wasnt 'fluffy'.

As per usual, they had the class with the Slytherins. Malfoy was standing with Crabbe and Goyle, who were just nodding their heads in unison to whatever Draco was whispering to them. Judging by the look on his face, he wanted to say something to Harry, but thanks to Ron and Hermione being prefects, he didn't dare. And since Harry didn't have prefect status, if he did anything, Draco would jump on the occasion to remove as many points possible. Harry briefly wondered if he could talk to Dumbledore about that, giving him some sort of status. Plus, since Dumbedore had hinted that he might be taking even more lessons, he would need the authority to be out of the dorms after curfew.

But that would be later. Now, he was in lessons. The class was following Hagrid around his hut to an enclosure. Through the gaps of the fence was what looked like a large wolf, roughly 3 meters long, except it's eyes shone silver, and instead of a normal tail was a reptilian tail, half the length of its body, with 4 sharp spikes at the end of its tail, 2 on each side.

"Ri'ht. Who knows wot this is ?"

Only Hermiones hand went up in the air. Several sniggers could be heard from thre Slytherin students, Draco seeming to snigger the loudest.

"Malfoy ?" Hagrid asked. The pale blond-haired boy seemed put off at being asked.

"Erm, dunno. Some sort of wolf …"

The creature heard this and raised his head. Slowly getting up, he slinked towards where Malfoy stood, a low, rumbling growl coming from the back of its throat.

"Hermione ?" Hagrid said. If he was worried about the creatures actions, he didn't show it, unlike the vast majority of the students who took 2 steps back from the enclosure.

"It's a Wolfard. It's a highly intelligent race of wolf. It's silver eyes give it perfect vision, whatever the level of light or possible non-material obstructions. Some have telepathic abilities, although this has only been observed in the older wolfards. It is very strong and resistant, both magically and physically, and has very sharp senses, both physical and magical."

"Very good 'Ermione. 5 points to Gryffindor."

The wolfard had stopped about 2 meters short of the fence. The only people who hadn't taken several steps back were Harry, who wasn't fearful, Hermione, who had been engrossed in her explaination, and Hagrid, who considered the animal to be the epitome of cuteness. The creatures had been looking at Hermione during her explaination. If Harry didn't know better, he would say that it's look was … approving, although it's hard to tell when ones face is covered in fur with completely silver eyes. Slowly, it turned its head, and its eyes locked with Harrys' …

Harry felt as if an electrical spark shot out of the animals eyes and hit him. A shiver ran the length of his spine, and some sort of contact was made. The wolf tilted its head at exactly the same time Harry did. If anybody had been paying attention, they would have found it comical.

"_Are you going to say anything ?_" Harry heard someone asking.

"Huh ?" he said out loud. Looking around, he only saw Hermione and Hagrid near him. Hagrid was explaining about the wolfard to the rest of the class, who were still reluctant to get near the enclosure. And Hermione was listening to Hagrid.

"_Are you slow, or are you doing it on purpose ?_"

Harry turned his head to the only possible source of this remark : the wolfard.

"What do you want ?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. The wolfard tilted its head again. '_Is this better ?_' he asked, sending a mental question to the wolfard.

"_Much._"

'_I thought only older members of your race could mind-speak,_' Harry said, more of a statement than a question.

"_It's normally the case. But we can speak mentally to each other, as well as to beast-speakers and those with a strong connection to animals. We're more mentally open compared to most other beings._"

'_Well, I'm not a wolfard. So which of the others am I ?_'

"_You have a strong connection to animals of every kind. You aren't human, that much I can sense, although I cannot sense what else is there._"

'_Griffin and dragon._'

"_That would explain the feline smell. It's nice to be able to have this conversation. The other, large human, he's only slightly empathic. I cannot get though to him._"

'_Yes, well, he does have somewhat of an obsession with dangerous creatures._'

"_Are you saying that I'm dangerous._"

'_You certainly gave me that impression as you got up and stalked to your present position._'

"_That pale boy insulted me, calling me a wolf. I do not approve of him, although the female just behind you is knowledgable._"

'_I don't think there is a subject where she doesn't know at least something._'

"_Well, it was nice talking with you. But your class seems to be over. You may come down and speak with me when you wish. And bring the female, I'm sure she would like participating in the conversation._"

Harry turned and noticed that people were packing away their books. Hermione was also putting away some parchment, and Harry supposed she had been taking notes. Harry noticed Ron wad written at least as much, if not more, than Hermione. Harry figured that he had done so because he would be tutoring Care of Magical Creatures. No one had even noticed that he hadn't been following along with the rest of the class, and since Harry wasn't exactly discreet, he wondered why this was. Seeing the wolfard was back to where it had been resting, Harry went to Ron and Hermione, and they walked back to the castle together after waving goodbye to Hagrid …

*****************************************************************************************

"Right, pair up and test the spell with your partner."

Arabella Figg made an impression as soon as she had walked through the door. She started off by threatening the removal of points for every person who refused to say the name 'Voldemort'. Followed a brief summary of what would be seen during the school year, examples of curses that would be studied, along with shields and counter-curses. Brief dueling periods would be held during some lessons. The then showed them a simple attack curse that could confuse the opponent, overloading one of their senses with images, sounds, smells, tastes, or feelings, and them paired everyone off.

Ron was paired up with Hermione who, judging by his face, had overloaded his taste buds. He had his tongue out and was frantically rubbing his tongue on his sleeve. Harry didn't want to know what he was tasting. Harry had been paired up with Sarah.

"Ready to try ?" he asked her. She gave a nervous smile, followed by a brief nod. "You wanna start ?"

"Sure," she said, getting a firm grip on her wand and raising it straight before her. "Surchargeus." A yellow-green beam of light flew from her wand and straight towards Harry, who had to fight his instinct of dodging the curse. He also had to remember to lower his natural shields as it struck.

He didn't feel different at first. Then it started. He could feel a spider crawling up his leg, followed by another, then another. He started to brush it off, but it didn't leave. More spiders came. He felt some appear on his back and arms, and started to fight panic as he tried brushed them off. He was starting to get more and more frantic in his gestures when the sensation left. He looked up at Sarah.

"Are you okay ?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think. That was horrid."

What did she do ?" Ron asked. He had seen how Harry had been reacting.

"Make me feel hundreds of spiders crawling all over me."

Ron gave a vissible shudder as all the blood left his face. If Harry disliked spiders, Ron had an acute phobia of them, ever since his prankster brothers turned his teddy bear into a large spider while he was still holding it.

"Alright. It's your turn," Sarah said with a little aprehension on her face. It wasn't supposed to be a pleasent experience, after all.

Harry raised his wand and pointed it at her, wondering what he would do. Images ? Nah. Feeling ? No, he didn't want to do the same thing she had. Taste ? It had been funny watching Ron, but no. Sound ? Nah, boring. Left : smell. Something foul. Rotten Fish !!

"Surchargeus." The light flew from hs wand and hit Sarah straight in the chest. At first, she didn't notice anything. Then, she started sniffing. She started to wave her hand in front of her face, but it visible didn't help, since she started to pince her nose, hoping to block out the overpowering smell Harry had conjured. She had started to gag when Harry finally removed the spell.

"Eek, that was aweful."

"No worse than having hordes of spiders crawling all over you," Harry answered.

"I guess not. But from the looks of it, Hermione did something very funny to Ron with her spell."

"Yep. I want to know what she made him taste"

"Probably something rotten. Hermione, what did you make him taste ?" Sarah asked Hermione, who had just been put under the spell, and had probably been assaulted by images, judging by the way she was blinking her eyes and looking rapidly from left to right at the same time.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. Who knew that bees could be so distracting."

Harry didn't answer, but pointed a finger at Ron, who had a smile on his face.

"Trust me, smelling rotten fish is at least as bad," Sarah said.

"Right everyone done. Your homework will be explaining about the spell, how it felt to be put under, and to research the counter-curse. Extra credit will be given if you research a similar curse along with counter-curse."

Harry and Ron looked at Hermione at exactly the same time. She looked from one, to the other, and back again. "What ?" Harry and Ron just looked at each other, an identical smile on their faces as they rolled their eyes.

With that, the bell indicating the end of the lesson rang, and everyone started to make their way towards the door …

****************************************************************************************

Tap, tap, tap. "Devideum Vivare."

The small wooden carving of a soldier came abruptly to life. It got up off the base it had been standing on, and started to pace, as if on guard.

"Finite incantateum." The soldier stiffened in mid-pace before falling over.

"This, children, is the animating spell. Although not quite transfiguration, it is closer to transfiguration than to charms." The voice of Minerva Mcgonagall, the transfiguration teacher, could easily be heard by everyone in the room. The fifth-year Gryfindors and Ravenclaw were looking intently at her recent demonstration, save for a few who were still looking at the fallen soldier.

"Now, can someone give me an example of its application ?" Hermiones hand shot up in the air, along with several Ravenclaws and … Rons. "Yes, mr Weasley ?"

"You can use it to create guards for something, to protect a certain area."

"Very good. 2 points to Gryffindor."

Ron beamed. He had never really been all that good at transfiguration, just slightly above average. The best among the Gryffindors were Hermione, no surprise there, and Harry, who seemed to have inherited his fathers talent in that particular use of magic. Of course, he would be able to answer the question, having had to face the giant chess set Mcgonagall had transfigured during his first year, on his, Hermiones and Harrys quest to save the philosophers stone from Voldemort.

"Now, everyone please come to the front to recieve their own statue to animate. Some of you may be able to manage a complete animation …" she said, glancing at Hermione, "… but most of you will not be able to do more than animate specific parts of the statue, such as a limb or 2."

With that, everyone got up and went to get their own modle to work on. Ron was one of the first to get it. After all, being the chess freak he was, wouldn't it be brilliant to be able to make his very own chess set. Bringing the statue to his desk, he whipped out his wand and remembered what the transfiguration teacher had told them. You had to be able to visualize different instructions and actions that you would give to the model, which meant that the more abilities you wanted to charm onto something, the harder it was, visualizing all the different things at the same time.

Thankfully, Ron was pretty good at this. He had played chess for almost as long as he could remember, and that meant always thinking ahead, trying to guess what the opponent would move, anticipation, and keeping in mind different strategies that could be applied, maybe having to change strategy to adapt to the opponents move.

To start of with, he would keep it simple. He just wanted to have his model march from one end of the desk to the other, continually. Setting the model down, he took out his wand. Closing his eyes and taking a relaxing breath, he visualized the soldier marching to the edge, turning around, and continuing to march. He opened his eyes, pointed his wand determinedly at the model, and said the magic words : "Devideum Vivare."

Immediately, his model jumped up and started to march. Ron was ecstatic. He was about to call the professor over when he noticed that his model wasn't moving it's arms and head, but only the legs were moving. It did, however, march to the end, spin around, and march back He was about to stop it and start again when he felt a presence next to him. Looking up, he saw that in the time it had taken for his little soldier to cross the desk, the transfiguration teacher was now standing next to him and was looking at his creation.

"Not bad, mister Weasley. I suppose that when you imagined it, you didn't think of moving the arms and head, did you ?"

Thinking back, he shook his head. "Not a professor."

"Well try again, but make the arms move more. I'm sure you'll get it right …"

She was about to continue when a squeaky voice shouted 'Have at you, Scallywag' on a desk to Rons left, followed by the sound of 2 wooden sticks hitting each other. Evryones head turned to the sound.

Harry and Hermione were sitting on 2 neighbouring desks. Harry had recieved the figurine of a medieval knight, with tower shield and broadsword in his hand. Hermione had recieved a footsoldier, with buckler and normal sword. Harry and Hermione had managed to successfully give their soldiers so much 'life' that they were presently holding a duel. Harrys' knight would attack, while Hermiones footsoldier would be forced to block, before he could counter-attack and drive the knight backwards. Half a dozen students were now gathered around the table, and non-monetary bets had been set up to declare the winner.

Ron looked on with a mixture of surprise, joy, envy and jealousy. Yes, he had nearly managed to get his the way he had wanted it to be on his first go. But Harry and Hermione had largly surpassed him. Once again. For the upteenth time.

Mcgonagall had her entire attention on the 2 soldiers. Harrys was slowly getting the advantage, and in a combination of basic moves, he disarmed the soldier, who yielded to the knight. "Very good, both of you. How many mouvements did you give them ?"

"I gave mine 8 attacks and 3 defence moves miss," Hermione said proudly, giving her soldier back its sword before immobilizing it on its base again.

"Erm, I think a dozen attacks and half a dozen defence moves," Harry answered. A couple of gasps could be heard, even from the Ravenclaws. It was hard to give an object so many moves.

"That will be 22 points to Gryffindor for your animation, miss Granger, and 36 points for yours, mister Potter. 2 points for each mouvement." With that, she turned around and want to see Nevilles, who seemed to be attempting to attack him, but thankfully only its arms were moving, meaning it couldn't get near him. Ron sulkingly looked at his soldier, who had continued to pace back and forth during the entire duel.

"That's pretty good, Ron." Looking up, he saw Harry looking at Rons soldier.

"Not as good as yours," Ron answered sourly. Harry heard this and looked at Ron, who was busy staring at his figurine.

"Ron." Ron slowly and reluctantly looked up at Harry. "I got it good for several reasons. I had extra training during the holidays, and transfiguration is natural for me. It literally runs in my blood. I'm a natural shapeshifter, after all." He said this in a very soft voice, even though nobody else was paying them any attention. Even Hermione was experimenting on her figurine, trying to give it more moves. "And as for Hermione, she has a lot of discipline which helps he control her magic."

Ron snorted, not really seeing the point of where Harry was going. After all, who wanted to listen to someone spout of reasons why they were better at you for something, even if they couldn't help it. He broke his gaze from Harrys and stared once again at his figurine.

"But remember, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Hermiones strength is her discipline and control. To be honest, I would think that in terms of brute magical strength, you are quite a way above her …"

"Yeah, right. That's why she's top in everything, while I struggle," Ron said bitterly.

"But there's more to magic than brute strength. Intent, emotions, control, all that and much more. If Dumbledore is anything to go by, a little bit of madness helps, too." Ron gave a small smile at this. "Just give it time. It'll come. Besides, you did better than most people did for their first attempts. And you hardly struggle. You do pretty good in charms, and you wouldn't have survived our adventures without at least some knowledge in DADA."

Ron gave a look around, and noticed that most people, even the Ravenclaws, barely had more than a limb moving. Nevilles had finally stopped trying to attack him, but would fall over every time it tried to take a step, but continue as if it was walking, despite having fallen. "Yeah, I suppose. Sorry, I was just …"

"Don't mention it," Harry said, clapping Ron lightly on his back.

"Neville seems to be getting better."

"Like I said, emotions help. He just got a pretty big confidence boost during the summer holidays. And do you remember in third year, whan I conjured my patronus for the first time. It was because I knew that I could, because I already had. If you really believe in what you're trying to do, it'll come true."

Ron ran a hand over his face. "You're right. Thanks, Harry."

"No problem, mate."

Ron got his wand and stopped the figurine. In no time at all, it was marching, and swiping at everything that came too close. Ron gained 6 points for Gryffindor that lesson, and left with a smile on his face.

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Authors Note :

There, another chapter up and running. It took a bit longer than what I first thought, but not by much. I don't really have any excuse as to why, bit that's the way it is.

This chapter was nothing more really than extracts of Harrys week. I didn't have a set order, neither for the time of the lessons nor the classes, so in a later chapter I might say they have lessons with another house, when it should be a thrid. I'll try not to do so, but mistakes happen. As for the astronomy lesson, I just wanted to put it in because I have yet to read a story which had an astronomy lesson in it. Pity my knowledge in astronomy is pretty limited. I can recognize major constallations, but that's about it.

Anyway, if you enjoyed the chapter, or if you hated it and think that lightning should strike my iconoclastic being, or somewhere in between, please review.


	16. Chapter 16 : no name yet

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. Took a bit longer than what I thought, sorry about that.

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read and review :** chaser, shdurrani (**I was planning on doing so. Read this chapter. I hope it meets your expectations.**), icedrake, green eyed knight, JerseyGirl03, Angelis, wquad ( ;) ), Ghostcat (**for your numerous reviews**), Jordan, luke-6622427 (**could you give me the title or id of the story with the Katie/Harry pairing please**), brenda, Arizosa, BenJonBroad, Thelbyn, Silverleaf (**that will come soon, next chapter, in fact.**), fantasydima, bookwrm580 (**nope, I'm still alive. Thanks for the review**), Jarvey, Silver Wolf, Skysong, B0B, atalante and wadeki (**who knoww**).**

Challange :

Yes, it's challange time. I just wanted to say that. Anyway, here's the challange.

It's not for a whole story, but more for a possible addition. The only sport we hear about is quidditch. Now I have nothing against quidditch, but a little variety never hurt anybody. My challange is basically to invent a wizarding sport that can be done only by wizards, or to adapt a muggle sport to wizards. The sport has to be slightly extreme, and becomes somewhat of a craze amonst the students, who have to practice the sport but also avoid being caught while practicing, since the teachers don't approve of the sport (of course). And no discrimination, the sport can be done by boys and girls (maybe the boys say girls shouldn't do it, and a challange between the 2 sexes issues, …). I call it : Mad Ant's Sport Challange (yeah baby !!).

The idea of this challange came from a French film called 'Yamakasi'. It's about 7 teens who practice urban climbing and acrobatics, climbing up residental buildings and the like, being chased by the police. They actually practice the sport (they were 15 or so to start with, but only 7 still do it ; no one died, they just stopped).

That's it. If anybody actually decided to follow the challange, send me an e-mail and let me know.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 16

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"Neville seems to be getting better."

"Like I said, emotions help. He just got a pretty big confidence boost during the summer holidays. And do you remember in third year, when I conjured my patronus for the first time. It was because I knew that I could, because I already had. If you really believe in what you're trying to do, it'll come true."

Ron ran a hand over his face. "You're right. Thanks, Harry."

"No problem, mate."

Ron got his wand and stopped the figurine. In no time at all, it was marching, and swiping at everything that came too close. Ron gained 6 points for Gryffindor that lesson, and left with a smile on his face.

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Friday, last lesson of the day.

"What is magic ?"

It seemed like a simple question the DADA teacher, miss Figg, was asking them. But it had them all stumped. Quiet murmurrings could be heard throughout the class, which was composed of fifth-year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. But no one dared raise their hands. Not even the Ravenclaws, who were stereotyped as debating different points of magic during their spare time. Eventually, Hermione slowly raised her hand.

"Yes, miss Granger."

"Well miss, textbooks of the theory of magic usually describe magic as being a form of energy that each person can control and bend according to their will to bring about different effects."

"Yes, that is how the textbooks describe it." With that, she wrote the words 'energy' and 'will' on the blackboard, which had previously been clean. "Anything else ?"

Not a single person raised their hands. Harry was wondering where the lesson was heading, since he didn't really see what this had to do with DADA.

"You see, it seemed like a simple question, yet there isn't really a clear-cut answer. Another question : what factors define your ability to use magic ?"

This was an easier question to answer, and soon there were several words that had been added to the blackboard : 'emotion', 'confidence', 'talent', 'level of magic', 'spell complexity', 'imagination', 'training', 'intent' and 'visualization' had joined the 2 words that had previously been written.

"From this, we can see that there isn't one particular definition that we can give to magic. It is a an _ensemble_ of different things, a whole, and not all the factors that we have mentionned are necessary for the different spells. Transfiguration, one branch of magic, requires a good deal of will-power and visualization, along with raw power. Curses are generally used in a state of heightened emotion, which will effect the amount of power behind the curse, as will the intent of the spell used. Of course, some factors will effect our ability to cast magic, whatever the spell. But some are more necessary than others. Now, how do you use magic ?"

Answers came : wand mouvements, incantations, visualizing results, all this and more. Answers came as often from the Ravenclaw students as from Gryffindor, with Harry, Hermione and Neville anwsering the most for the latter house. Some people argued that the wand mouvements and incantations were absolutely necessary, while it was mentionned that some spells didn't even have a particular wand mouvement. Ideas flew back and forth, with occasionnal input from the teacher. After the discussion had been going strong for around 10 minutes, the teacher interrupted.

"It's good that you are all taking this seriously. Now, each of you knows that with a given incantation and/or wand mouvement, you can get a certain effect by using your magic." The entire class nodded, all of them wondering where this was leading. "But what about using pure magic ?"

Silence. The only sound was that of people breathing. Hermione raised her hand, and was called upon by the teacher.

"But miss, how do you do that ? And what can you use it for ?"

"Good questions. To first answer the second question, you can do quite a few things using pure magic, although it is generally used to physically help the witch or wizard. As to how, that is the aim of this lesson …"

Getting up from her desk which she had been sitting on, she went behind it and opened one of the draws to get a short wooden pole, about one foot (30 cm) long and an inch (2.54 cm) thick. Gripping it firmly in one hand, she raised it out in front of her, holding the stick horizontally, parallel with the ground. Raising her other hand above it, she closed her fist except for her index finger. Suddenly, it shone with a white light before she brought her hand down. The finger hit the stick, shattering it at the point where it hit, sending the cut of piece flying out to the side, hitting the wall at its base which was about 4 meters away. Everyone had been watching, fascinated at what had just happened.

Miss Figg lowered the stick, or what was left of it. Her finger was no longer glowing, and she had several beads of sweat running down her forehead. Wiping them away, she placed the piece of wood on her desk and sat down on its edge. "Now you see why it's so dangerous. I will be teaching you how to do that, as well as how to defend yourself against it. This will include some physical training. So every Friday morning as of next week, you will meet me on quidditch pitch as seven o' clock sharp."

Half of the remaining lesson was just explaining what was necessary to do what she had done, that it relied solely (spelling???) on willpower and raw magical strength. She also mentionned that you could use this method to defend yourself from curses and spells, and that in theory, it could be used as a counter-curse for the killing curse, but that no one had tested this theory yet. She also explained that she didn't expect anyone to manage whet she did before about a month, but that there homework was to try their best. She also said that it was extremely hard, and that most people didn't manage to do more than more than a finger for around 5 seconds before being drained. She herself could do it for almost 10 seconds beofre needing to stop. And that Dumbledore could hold it on 2 fingers for a whole minute.

The rest of the lesson, people spent their time practicing concentrating pure magic on one finger. Not a single Ravenclaw managed to get anything. They may be on average smarter than the other houses, but when it came to actually practicing and continuing to try, not matter how many times you fail, that was a quality that most Gryffindors possessed. Neville got the end of his finger to flash, very dimly. Harry barely managed to notice, and Neville was visible fatigued just after. In fact, he almost fainted. Ron got the same result, as was slightly less tired than Neville, as did Sarah. Miss Figg gave each of them 10 points for managing. Hermione was very dissappointed that she didn't manage to get anything, but vowed she would manage before the day was over.

Harry didn't try. At least, not when anyone had been looking. He had waited for everyone to be looking elsewhere before even attempting. Neville and Ron were sitting with their eyes closed, slowly recuperating from the effort. Hermione was concentrating fully on her finger, as was everyone else. And miss Figg was walking around answering any questions she was asked. Luckily for him, he was sitting on the very edge, so less people could see him. And as he was in the front row, people were more likely to see his back.

Turning so that no one would be able to see, he held his hand close to his body so as to block it from the view of others. Concentating, he willed the magic from the different parts of his body to focus on just one point. He could almost feel it as it moved through him, slowly gathering at his hand. However, it didn't light up any. He felt as if it was building up in too small a space for it, being cramped and impaired. So instead on concentrating on just the tip of his finger, he instead concentrated on his whole finger. It felt better, less painful and more confortable, but not quite right yet. Enlargening even more, he concentrated on the 4 fingers of his hand, leaving the thumb out of it.

Slowly, the 4 fingers started to brighted. He could feel the energy that was there, slowly being released and leaving him, warming his chest slightly where his hand was. It was a faint glow at first, but after 5 seconds was just as bright as when the teacher had shown them. He tried to focus even more, and it got a bit brighter, but harder to maintain. Gritting his teeth and ignoring the drops of sweat that were dripping from his forehead and down his back and from his arms. He squinted, willing all the energy he could find in his body into his four fingers, and they started to shine, not enough to blind or force him to look away, but enough. Finally, he could take no more and allowed the magic to return back to the rest of his body. He didn't control it enough, however, and was forced to let out a small gasp as it was slightly painful to have it wildly regain its place.

"Very good, mister Potter," said a soft voice from his side. Turning while he panted and tried to blink the sweat out of his eyes, he saw the teacher looking at him. Turning even more, he was releaved to see that no one else was looking, and therefore hadn't noticed what he had done. "That was very powerful magic you just did. With more training, just think what you would be able to do. 40 points to Gryffindor." With that, she strode to the front of the class. "Now, there will be no homework except to continue trying to do what I did. Even if you don't manage, it's a good exercice that can help you for the other lessons. Those who managed, congratulations. Those who didn't, keep trying."

With that, the bell signaling the end of lessons rang. Everyone was sweating as they got up due to the effort they had put forth and started to file out of the room, heading back to their dorm to take a relaxing shower.

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Harry walked down to the Hagrids hut. It was a bright Saturday afternoon, and the sun was shining, warming everything. However, thanks to a cool breeze that blew slightly across the grounds, it was bearable. But only just. Harry wa gratefull that weekends meant not being obliged to wear school uniforms. Instead, he was wearing dark blue jeans and an ordinary short-sleeved white t-shirt.

That morning, when he had been eating breakfast, he had recieved (spelling???) an owl from Remus, asking Harry to join him and Snuffles at 5 o' clock, at Hagrids cabin. And to come alone. He had wondered why as he read the letter, and was still wondering why as he was walking to the hut on the edge of the forbidden forest. Ron had been slightly peeved at this, and had suggested he follow Harry with his invisibility cloak. Harry, however, had refused, and Ron had huffed for a bit before coming around. Hermione didn't mind, and decided to use the time to focus on the pure-magic exercice that the DADA professor had told them to do. She had managed to produce an extremely faint light for merely a fraction of a second late Friday evening, just before going to bed. Which was lucky, since she fainted just after managing. Surprisingly, neither of them asked Harry whether he had managed to get a result or not, and Harry was thankful for this. He didn't want to have to show them, and certainly didn't want this getting around the school.

Arriving at the hut, he raised his hand and knocked at the door. A couple of seconds later, it opened to reveal the face of Remus Lupin.

"Ah, Harry, how are you ?" he asked, opening the door completely and stepping aside, letting Harry enter before closing the door behind him.

"Okay, thanks," was all he managed to say before he was attacked by a large black dog with long, shaggy hair, that was none other than his godfather, Sirius Black. "Hello Snuffles."

Remus waved his wand, casting several privacy charms : one on each window, blocking what was happening inside, along with deafening charms on the windows, door and walls, making sure anything they said couldn't be heard outside of the hut. Sirius transformed back into human form and gave his godson a huge hug.

"Good to see you, Harry. You're looking well."

"Don't look too bad yourself."

Remus sat down, as did Harry and Sirius, before conjuring some tea and biscuits. As he poured the tea, Sirius briefly explained the mission Dumbledore had given them, gathering several more allies to the cause. He also explained that Hagrid was in the forbidden forest, tending to some of the creatures in there, and wouldn't be back before nightfall.

"And how long are you going to be staying for ?"

Before either had the chance to answer, a knock could be heard from the door. Remus went to it and, after removing the silencing charms, he asked, "who's there ?"

"Just me," came the jovial answer that Harry recognized as being the headmaster. Remus removed the rest of the spells and let the headmaster in before putting the spells up once again.

"Good. Now that everyone is here, we can begin," said Dumbledore, conjuring up a cup and pouring himself some tea.

"Yes," Remus continued. "As I was saying, Harry, we will be staying only a few days. As you know, the full moon will be tomorrow night (AN : if I remember well, there's a full moon every 28 1/2 or 29 days, and the last one was on the 12th August in this story, making the next on the 10th September, the current date being 9th September). Professor Snape had graciously made us some wolfsbane potion."

Harrys brow creased in thought. "You and Sarah ?"

"Correct. The wolfsbane helps dull the pain and allows us to think more or less as a human, despite being in wolfs form. But something else helped also. Accompanying animagi." Harry nodded. He knew the reason that his father, Sirius and Pettigrew had become animagi in the first place. It was to accompany Remus when he underwent his transformations. "However, there will be 2 werewolves, and I'm afraid that if something happens, Sirius alone won't be enough to handle the situation.

"So you want me to come along ?" Harry asked. "But what if I get accidently (spelling???) bitten ?"

"That shouldn't be a problem, Harry," Dumbledore interrupted "The werewolf bite doesn't affect animagi in animal form because they are closer to animals than humans at that point, as will you be in griffin or dragon form. In fact, theoretically, you wouldn't have any trouble even if you were bitten now, since you are not totally human."

Harry nodded. What Dumbledore just said made sense. "But if I accompany you, she'll know that I know she's a werewolf."

"Not if you meet us already transformed in the forbidden forest," Remus said. That was a good point. "Plus, if we 'introduce' you, we could say that she meets you in the forest every full moon, that way Sirius and I don't have to be there to watch over her." Harry nodded. Everything they said made good sense.

"Okay. How will this work ?"

"Well Harry, she will be called to come to my office slightly before sunset. As soon as she's on her way to my office, you will go down and meet un in the small clearing, about 500 meters down the path." Harry nodded. He knew of the clearing, he had passed by it in his first year, on a detention. "You'll assume griffin form, since your dragonic form is hardly adapted. I will escort Sarah here, along with Sirius who will be in his dogs form. Once the full moon is over, we'll get back here and you will have to use your inborn cunningness (Harry snorted) to get back to the Gryffindor tower."

"How will she explain her absence ? How will I, for that matter ?"

"She will say she wasn't feeling well, or some other excuse. Remus will help her on that point. As for you, that is why Dumbledore is here," Remus said, looking at the aged wizard that was slowly stroking his beard.

"Yes Harry. There is a matter I wished to bring up with you." Harry leant forward, paying undivided attention to the headmaster. "You know the role of prefects and head boy and girl. They are there to help the different students around and to maintain discipline. They have existed since the founding of Hogwarts. However, the school was founded in turbulent times, Harry. Muggles were afraid of magic-users. So it became clear that it was necessary to have a group of people in the castle at all times to defend it." Harry wondered where this was going. "This group was called Varorians (AN : from ancient Norse 'varor', meaning 'defender, guardian'). They recieved (spelling???) extra training in magical attack and defence, as well as physical attack and defence. They were also people of authority. They were above the prefects and head boy and girl. On some circumstances, they were higher than teachers, although only in exceptionnal (spelling???) circumstances."

'_Wow_', Harry thought, '_students having more authority than even teachers._'

"There was, among Varorians, the head-Varorian who lead them, as well as the deputy-Varorian, who was his second-in-command. They held the most authority in the group, the head-Varorian being at least equal to the teachers. There was also a third, who became deputy in the case where either the head or the deputy were unable to act or think. However, as time passed and the threat of attack from muggles lessened, they were less used and slowly abandonned. Now Harry, if I am telling you this, it is because with recent events, it is clearly evident that this group has to be started once again. And I wish for you to be a part of the group."

Harry gaped at Dumbledore, who was looking at Harry with a twinkle in his eye. "Me ? You have _GOT_ to be kidding."

"No, Harry, not at all. I am most serious. First of all, you are well respected among the students, even among the Slytherins. Next, you are a good student. Third, you are magically and physically able to do so."

"But sir, when will I find the time ? I have OWLs this year, quidditch, extra tutoring lessons. If I take this, I don't know how I'll keep up."

"Look at it logically, Harry," Sirius said, interviening (spelling???) for the first time. "You have tutoring two evenings a week, yes ? (Harry nodded) Quidditch training maybe three times a week, whether mornings, evenings or weekends. Now, as a Varorian, you will have to recieve (spelling???) extra training, which will help you for your OWLs, which are 2 thirds practical exam. Plus you already had extra training for some things during the holidays. I don't think you'll have too much trouble."

"Not forgetting that it would already give extra credit for your OWL results," Dumbledore added. "You will start off having more intensive training, but once a rythme has been found, there will be less training and different jobs to do. You may be able to skip one or two training sessions at first, since you already had extra training during the holidays."

Staring off into space, Harry thought over what Sirius and Dumbledore had said. Making a weekly agenda in his head, he placed his school work, his tutoring lessons, and quidditch pratice sessions. Making an estimate at the time he would need for homework and studying, he saw that he did indeed have enough time. Turning to Dumbledore, he nodded. "I'll do it."

"Excellent Harry. Now, you won't be alone. I have a list of several people from different houses and years, no lower than fifth year, who will also be asked to join the group."

"Who did you have in mind ?"

Dumbledore pulled a roll of parchment from his inside pocket and handed it to Harry, who unrolled it and started to read : Potter, Harry, Gryffindor, fifth **;** Salter, Daniel, Gryffindor, sixth **;** Bell, Katie, Gryffindor, seventh **;** Bones, Susan, Hufflepuff, fifth **;** Fawcett, Deborah, Hufflepuff, sixth **;** Rommings, Andrew, Hufflepuff, seventh **;** Patil, Padma, Ravenclaw, fifth **;** Chang, Cho, Ravenclaw, sixth **;** Trent, Gregory, Ravenclaw, seventh **;** Zabini, Blaise, Slytherin, fifth **;** Higgs, Terence, Slytherin, sixth **;** Pucey, Adrian, Slytherin, seventh.

"Are you sure about their loyalties ?"

"No, they will be tested if they accept to be a part of the Varorians."

"And how are the head-Varorian and deputy chosen ?" Harry asked.

"I will tell you once the whole group of Varorians is composed."

"And what about the training ?" Harry asked, giving Albus back the list rolled up once again.

Pocketing the parchment, he answered, "you will recieve (spelling???) extra training in potions, charms, transfiguration, wand duelling and physical combat, both armed and unarmed. You will also recieve a few lessons on using modern muggle weapons. For all this, you will have to buy extra supplies, and will one day go to Diagon alley to get your extra supplies, such as armour, weapons and the like. I will be supplying the muggle weapons and ammunition."

"I already have some swords, sir."

"Enchanted ?" Harry nodded. "You will be taught with normal swords, without any enchantments on them. You will be permitted to carry your weapon or weapons around with you at all times, as well as some body armour. You will be able to give or deduct points, as well as giving detention, even to prefects and the head boy and girl. Prefects would not be able to deduct points, and the head boy and girl can only do so if they have a very good reason, and only teachers can give detention, and then only with a good reason. I will be giving you a schedule with your extra training sessions shortly, once I have contacted the other students."

Harry just nodded. Dumbledore had covered everything Harry had thought of, and several points he hadn't. "When will the group be active ?"

"I will talk with the rest of the students tonight, calling them together so that I don't have to repeat myself a dozen times. Supplies could be fetched Monday or Tuesday, and the Varorians will be once again active."

"Your parents would have been proud of you, Harry. You can be sure of that."

"Thanks Sirius. May I go, I want to be able to tell Ron and Hermione."

"You may go. Have a good day, Harry," Dumbledore said, as Harry made towards the door to leave.

"You to, professor. See you tomorrow Remus, Sirius."

"Later bud, "Sirius called.

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"Brilliant !!!"

"I've read about them in 'Hogwarts : a History', where …"

Harry had just told his friends about his meeting with Ron and Hermione, taking them up to the fifth-year boys dorm and making sure it was empty. Of course, he didn't mention anything about Sarah, just about the Varorians, and especially the priviledges (spelling???) he would get.

"Imagine, you can take points off Malfoy and he couldn't take any off you," Ron said, a dreamy expression crossing his face.

"Honestly, Ron, is that all you think about ?" Hermione scolded, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Pretty much," Ron shot back with a grin.

Hermione just 'humph'ed before turning back to Harry. "And what about the extra training you're ging to recieve (spelling???) ?" Ron just rolled his eyes, while Harry answered.

"Transfiguration, charms, potions, wand and physical duelling. We have to go to Diagon Alley to buy weapons and armour, probably beginning of next week. And Rons correct about Malfoy, he's been looking to get me alone so he can try and remove points from Gryffindor, and specifically me."

"Yeah, I suppose. I'm jealous, you're getting extra lessons."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe Dumbledore'll let you sit in on them, if you're not teaching that day."

"You think ?"

"Anything's possible. After all, he did ask me to join the Varorians."

"What weapons will you be getting ?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. Hopefully I'll have axe and sword training, among others. I already have swords and an axe …"

"You do ? I've never noticed them," Ron said.

Harry bit his lip, annoyed with himself. He hadn't told them about the dragon realm, his heritage, or anything else that had happened. He had just mentionned talking to older dragons, which was more or less true, since he had spoken with the memories of his ancestors along with the other dragons he had met. He hadn't explained about dragons being able to take humanoid shape, nor his rank as a noble, nor his castle. Nothing. "Well, I got some weapons from the dragons. 2 swords and an axe. I can't tell you anything else about them, though. They are enchanted."

"Why can't you tell us anything else ?" Hermione asked. Ron looked as if he wanted to ask the same question, but not as politely.

"Some things aren't to be mentionned, Hermione. They concern the dragons, and only the dragons."

Hermione seemed satisfied with this answer. Ron didn't, and the internal struggle between asking more or dropping the subject could clearly be seen on his face.

"Ron, drop it."

Rons face finally relaxed, and he nodded. "All right. Can we see them ?" he asked hopefully.

Looking around the common room, Harry noticed that the other fifth-year boys were still in the commonroom, as were a large number of students. The three of them had chosen a calm and secluded corner, where no one could overhear them, and Harry had cast a privacy charm he had been taught during his summer training, and that Hermione asked about as soon as it had been cast. "Sure. Come with me."

They made their way up to Rons and Harrys dorm room. Entering, Hermione magically locked the door once the three of them had entered. Harry walked to his trunk and opened it, while the other two waied behind him. He subtracted (word???) a bundle wrapped firmly in a thick cloth. Unraveling the bundle, he revealed the shrunken swords and axe. The runes were glowing.

"They don't look very special, other than the runes," Ron remarked.

"That's because they're not their real size." With that, he willed the sword he was holding to slowly take its full size It did so, and Ron and Hermiones eyes widened. It was 2 meters long, and looked exactly as Harry remembered it to look.

"Wow, Harry. Its beautiful," Hermione said, eyes travelling up and down the swords blade with the glowing runes.

"What about the axe ?" Ron asked, his eyes not leaving the sword. Harry turned around and placed the sword on his bed and took the axe. Again, he willed it to slowly take its original size. The 2 gasped again and gazed in awe at the weapon Harry was holding. For effect, he slung it over his shoulder.

"How does it look ?"

"Awesome," was Rons answer.

"Deadly," was Hermione answer.

Harry shrunk the axe and sword again and stowed them away. Closing the trunk, he turned to his best friends. "Now, you are not to mention them to anybody. I'll probably be wearing them when I'm officially recognized as a varorian, but till then … zip." Harry made a zipping mouvement across his lips for emphasis. Ron and Hermione nodded. "Good. Now, let's get back to the common room."

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Authors Note : There, chapter finished. R&R.


	17. Chapter 17 : A full Moon an Getting Supp...

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Title : Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind

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Summary : Harry goes to Hogwarts to follow a special training and learn more about his past.

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Disclaimer : The plot is mine, all the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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Authors Notes : Yay, another chapter up and running. Took a bit longer than what I thought, sorry about that.

Many thanks to all those who enjoyed the story and who take the time to read and review :** Jordan (**one full moon, coming up …**), shdurrani (**thanks. Could you give me the id or title of the story with the smilar idea, please ?**), epholge (**thanks for the review**), Lexi-formerly Katy999 (**thanks for reviewing**), dragonmaster (**thanks for the comment**), Elspethelf (**thanks. While I won't have a Harry/Ginny ship in this fic, I'm not against the ship. I just find that whoever Harry goes with, it has to be someone with a certain level of maturity, with all that's happened to him. And so far, in JKR's books, Ginny hasn't been portrayed enough as mature and level headed. But that's just my point of view.**), Takeda Lee (**the swords, like Harry, are 6 foot 6, or 2 meters. Harry shouldn't have trouble using them one at a time at full length, but remember that they can adjust their lengths.**), luke-6622427 (**thanks**), Angelis (**thanks. Sorry about the update time for this chapter, PC problems**), BloodRedSword (**thnks, duly noted**), litine (**thank you for the review**), Kemenran (**there you go ;)**), fantasydima (**thanks for commenting**), JerseyGirl03 (**thanks for the review and the word**), stayblue (**thanks**), Usaka (**thanks for the review and rule. I could never remember it right, and always wix the 2. I'll do better in the future, promise**), chaser (**there you go**), angie (**Thanks for your comments on the story, my character and my appaling grammar (kidding ;) )**), darkfireunicorn (**thanks very much**), icedrake (**there will be more action in the future, patience …**), Skysong (**thanks for the review**), Arizona (**thank you for reviewing**), Miranda Wecker (**sure thing**), Estrella de la Tarde (**Aha, I now have my own personnal astrologer, although just looking at your nickname, I should have guessed. Thanks for the help, I'll be sure to write if I need any**), Orion (**sooooooo sorry for wasting your like (said in a real sarcastic voice). Thanks for the encouraging remarks**), Kyntor (**thanks. Word is duly noted**), Stuunad (**Peace**), bully (**I dunno who will be head varorian, although the choice will only take place once they've gone through some training. AS to the combat teacher, you'll have to wait and see**), dinkum (**thanks**), Sugar Quill (**thanks twice. You're even mentionned in my story, see if you can find yourself ;)**), Bob33 (**might be some romance soon, but not with Harry yet**), Weather Marmalade (**you raise some good points First, concerning how tall Harry is. Harri is tall, especially when compared to the average height of his fellow fifth years. And even for the others, being 6 foot 6 is taller than average (I'm 6'1", and I feel small when I meet my 6'6" mate, even if he's skinnier than a rake), not forgetting that he's very broad and muscular, which would give him the impression of being slightly taller. Plus, whatever race he is, he is still fifteen. He can still grow a couple of inches. Second point : you're correct about the times. I had corrected the dates on my computer and had thought that I had also corrected the files on FF.net, but with your comment, I see that it's not the case. It will be done. Thanks heaps.**), bullu (**Thank you three times over**) and BULLY (**thanks for reveiwing**).**

I'll just take 2 minutes to explain the theory behind pure magic and it's ability to block every curse, no exceptions : a spell uses a particular espect of magic : 'stupefy' spells take it's ability to render people unconscious, 'enervate' to wake people up, etc. Counter-curses are simply the opposite energy, annuling the spell or curse. The killing curse is the same, since it's just another aspect of magic, albeit a more taxing and tiring aspect. It's also why normal spells aren't all that tiring. However, pure magic is using all aspects of magic at the same time, which explains why it's so tiring and why, in theory, it can counter every curse, even the killing curse.

Of course, this is just one way of viewing magic, and is the way magic will be viewed in this story. In another story, it might be viewed differently. But I wanted to take this opportunity to explain it.

I would also like to aplogize. His chapter was ready a few days ago, at the beginning of the week. But my computer started to play up, and I was unable to get the chapter uploaded. But the problem had been resolved, so now it's up.

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Dragon's Heart, Griffin's Mind : Chapter 17

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"What about the axe ?" Ron asked, his eyes not leaving the sword. Harry turned around and placed the sword on his bed and took the axe. Again, he willed it to slowly take its original size. The 2 gasped again and gazed in awe at the weapon Harry was holding. For effect, he slung it over his shoulder.

"How does it look ?"

"Awesome," was Rons answer.

"Deadly," was Hermione answer.

Harry shrunk the axe and sword again and stowed them away. Closing the trunk, he turned to his best friends. "Now, you are not to mention them to anybody. I'll probably be wearing them when I'm officially recognized as a varorian, but till then … zip." Harry made a zipping mouvement across his lips for emphasis. Ron and Hermione nodded. "Good. Now, let's get back to the common room."

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There was nothing of note during Sunday. Ron badgered Hermione for help with his assignments, which Hermione refused to give. As she would uncessantly repeat, he wouldn't learn anything if he didn't put the effort to do his assignments himself. Harry had already finished. He knew that he would have a full week, as well as the following weeks. Tutoring lessons, Varorian duties, extra training, quidditch, all that on top of normal lessons and homework. He wouldn't have much free time. But he was looking forward to it. He had checked it all out, and normally, things would be just fine.

Sarah had been quite nervous during the day. Only Harry knew why other than Sarah. As the day went on, she would regularly look at her watch and then out the window. But as far as Harry knew, it would be the first time she would take the wolfsbane potion, which would undoubtedly help, as well as the company of an animagus. Harry didn't know if she was alone during her transformations in Canada, but hoped for her sake that she hadn't been alone. From Remus' description, Harry surmised what it must be one of the worst possible experiences, having to go through the painful transformations alone.

It was soon half-past-six, time for dinner. Dumbledore had told Harry what would happen. Minerva would call Sarah and himself away about 20 minutes before sundown. They would go to the headmasters office, where Remus would be waiting, along with Sirius in dogs form. Dumbledore would just give a small notice about the Varorians before he would be excused. He would get quickly down to the forbidden forest, where he would take griffins form. He would wait for them in the clearing that they had already arranged. And they would improvise in the morning, depending on what happened during the night.

During dinner, professor Mcgonagall went to where Harry and Sarah were sitting. "Mister Potter, miss Winslow, the headmaster would like to see the both of you in his office." Leaning over to Harry, she whispered in his ear "Password's : sugar quills," before straightening up and heading back to the head table.

Looking at the head table, Harry saw that Dumbledore had already left the room, unnoticed by the majority, if not the totality of students. Harry looked at the transfiguration teacher and nodded, getting up along with Sarah. Ron and Hermione gave him a questionning glance. "Later." Ron just shrugged and went back to finishing eating, although 'shoveling food in his mouth as fast as he can' would have been a more accurate description, while Hermione gave him a questionning glance before returning to her conversation with Neville about his teaching lessons. Neville was pretty nervous, and Hermione was helping him with the first lesson, thinking that once he was into the rythme of things that he would be okay by himself.

Harry was walking through the corridors with Sarah. Whilst she was now able to go from one lesson to another without any trouble, she had only been to the headmasters office once, the first day she had arrived, so she had absolutely no idea how to get there. They were both silent during the walk, but Sarah was fidgetting during the walk.

They arrived at the stone gargoyle that guarded the office. Harry gave the password and the gargoyle moved asside, revealing the stairs that lead up to the headmasters office. Harry started up, followed by Sarah (AN : in case anyones wondering, it was chivalric for the man to head up the stairs first, so as not to look up the womans skirt, and first to go downstairs, in case the woman behind tripped and fell so he could catch her). Arriving at the small landing before the large wooden door, Harry took the couple of steps to arrive and knocked.

"Come in," came the voice easily recognizable as Dumbledores. Harry opened the door and steped aside, letting Sarah enter first before following. She stayed near the door, still pretty nervous. Harry closed the door behind him. He noticed Remus standing near the window, and Sirius, in dogs form, at his feet.

"Remus," Harry said, walking over to where the man was standing and giving him a brief hug. "How are you ?"

Remus gave him a small smile. He was also slightly nervous, although agitated would probably be a better word. "As good as can be expected."

"You'll be okay tonight ?" he asked, giving him a conspiring wink that only Remus saw.

"Yes, I have Snuffles here, and the griffin I told you about." 

"Good. Professor Dumbledore, you said you wanted to see us," Harry said, indicating Sarah and himself, who was looking at him with a questionning look.

"Yes, Harry. I wanted to speak to you concerning the Varorians. I have spoken with the other students on the list, and all of them have agreed and have had their loyalties tested, and they are all loyal to us. Letters will be sent, and supplies will be fetched tomorrow, leaving straight after breakfast. I have assured everyone will have enough funds to but the necessary supplies tomorrow. You will be excused from lessons for as long as necessary. Those who have to can go to Gringotts bank to get some money. Now, each Varorian will receive a card indicating that he or she is a varorian. They will be magically linked to you, so they cannot be used by someone else. Prefects will be warned tomorrow about the varorians, but as soon as you have your card, that is to say, tomorrow morning, you will be active as a varorian, with all the responsibilities that go along. You will shortly be getting your new schedule, with the added training sessions."

Harry nodded. Dumbledore had thought of everything.

"That will be all. Now, you may return to your common room, there is something I need to discuss with miss Winslow, here."

Harry nodded and left the office, heading downstairs. Looking left to right and seeing that the corridors were empty, he ran, making his way towards the forest, making sure nobody saw him …

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"Mister Lupin, does Harry know … that you're a werewolf ?" Sarah asked Remus timidly, once she was sure Harry was far enough away.

"First of all, please call me Remus," Remus said with a tired yet kind smile. "And yes. Harry, Ron and Hermione learned shorty before the end of their third year. And they have all three been most accepting of that fact, Harry especially. Of course, professor Snape let it slip at the end of year feast, so that everyone knew, and I resigned from teaching DADA. However, I think it was mostly due to a personnal disagreement between himself and myself that caused that. But Harry came and asked me not to leave."

Sarah nodded. Knowing that Harry knew and accepted the werewolf curse _was_ an incentive in itself to tell someone. She wouldn't be able to keep it all to herself, but she still didn't know anyone enough to be able to confide in them.

"Well, we should be going. Coming, Snuffles ?" The large black dog, who up till then had been lying down under the window, jumped up and stood next to Remus.

"Before you leave, you need to have your final dose of wolfsbane potion," said Dumbledore, handing them both a steaming vial. They took it and swallowed it down in one go. Effective it may have been, it still tasted damn awful. After handing the vials back to the headmaster, they made their way out of the office and down to the main entrance.

"How well do you know Harry ?" Sarah asked as they walked down the corridors.

"Pretty well. I was school friends with his parents James and Lily, and he had most of the qualities of each. James, Sirius here and another all learnt how to become animagi so that they could accompany me during full moons. Plus I was a teacher here, and I gave Harry extra tutoring to help him deal with dementors." They continued to talk about the trio of friends as they entered the forest. They walked down the path leading to the clearing. As soon as Remus entered the clearing, he was jumped by a large golden griffin, who knocked him onto his back. Sarah gave a small scream and started to draw her wand, but the griffin moved forward and licked Remus in the face. "Ha, ha. Gerroff," Remus said, wiping the slobber off him and sitting up while Harry, in griffin form, moved back to leave him enough room to rise. Sirius jumped on Harry, and they started to roll and chase each other around the clearing. Sarah laughed "Sarah, that's a griffin I met not to long ago and that answers to the name of 'Harry'. He's very intelligent, so you can talk to him and he'll listen."

Harry, despite chasing Sirius, heard that they were talking about him. He stopped chasing his godfather and walked over to where Remus was sitting and Sarah was standing. Remus smiled as Harry looked up at him straight in the eye. "Thank you for accompanying us tonight, Harry," Remus said. Harry just lay down at Remus' feet. Remus looked up at the sky. "Well, it's just a question of minutes, now. Since the transformation doesn't include clothes, we have to place them here, and we'll come back before resuming human shape once again. Sirius will check me. Harry, could you take care of Sarah ?"

Harry gave him what could be interpreted as shock, his cat eyes widening, but gave a small nod. Looking at Sarah, he let her to where a large clump of bushes was to be found. He had prepared the area beforehand, and there was a bag which would be used to store her clothes and other belongings, as well as a cloak that she could use before transforming. Remus had the same kind of bag where he was aswell. Sarah shivered slightly, since the forest was quite cold. The leaves of the trees provided a lot of coverage and didn't allow much light through, and it never really got warm here.

After she had removed the cloak, Harry turned away to give her the required privacy, but kept his ears open for any suspicious noise. A couple of minutes later, he heard a rustling behind him. Slowly turning his head, he saw Sarah, with the cloak wrapped around her, stuffing the bag under the bush. Once she had finally hidden it, she sat down on a rock and looked at Harry, who was lying about 2 meters away. She shivered, and Harry could tell she was cold. He got up and moved closer, lying down next to her. She got of the stone and leant against Harry, taking in his warmth.

"Must be nice to have one form, huh ?" Harry turned his face to Sarah, who had asked the question. "Since you're here, I suppose you know I'm here for the same thing." Harry gave a nod, while Sarah gave him a small smile, impressed by what she thought was the intelligence of a wild magical animal. "It'll be better this time, compared to the other times. I drank a potion to help me with the pain," she continued, oblivious to the fact that it wasn't an ordinary griffin she was talking to. "I was bitten when I turned 10. It was 2 days after my birthday, which is the 20th of February. I was camping with my cousin, who is 2 years older than me. He and I were camping, despite the cold weather, plus the tent was charmed to keep us warm. We have a small wood behind where we lived in Canada,. Actually, is was a pretty big wood, but I knew it pretty well, and it seemed small to me. Anyway, it was a full moon, and we heard howling. We thought it was normal wolves, but since they avoid humans, we though it would be okay, since we were still in the tent." She paused enough to give a long sigh. She had evidently been wanting to talk about it for some time now, and thought that since Harry couldn't understand, her secret was safe with him.

"It was just one werewolf. He ripped through the tent and my cousin and I ran towards the house. I was slower and he caught up with me. He bit me here," she said, indicating her neck where her scars ran down her neck. "The noise woke my parents. My father, he's something of an authority back home on curses and the like. He jumped from the window on the first floor armed with his wand. The werewolf noticed him and left me and went after him, too. But my father killed it. But it was too late for me." A tear escaped from her left eye, and she didn't bother wiping it away. It was soon followed by several more, but her voice didn't waver during the rest of her story.

"Too late, I was infected with the curse. I didn't transform that night, since I had just been infected. But as of the next full moon, I would. My father contacted several specialists, but none knew of a cure, even just after the actual infection. However, werewolves in Canada are given quite a lot of freedom. It's considered that there is enough woodland for them to roam without bothering humans. The one that attacked me was a criminal, and wasn't a part of any pack. He had strayed, and had drawn closer to human settlements. Of course, they're only well considered as long as they stay in their packs, they're not allowed to go to school which is another reason they stay in packs. But you can only go so far without education. Anyway, dad contacted the pack leader, whose name is David, and he agreed to have me. I had to stay with the rest of the pack and could only visit my family one weekend per month. And as soon as I was of age, they also gave me magical training. I was the only child in the pack, so I had lessons all alone."

"And now I'm here. As it turns out, the pack leader knows Remus. Remus had met him several years ago, shortly after leaving school, but had come back here before I joined the pack. Remus renewed contact with them shortly after the rise of Voldemort, the darkest of wizards." Sarah gave a small shudder, and Harry was surprised that she said the name Voldemort, but supposed she could since Voldemort didn't really act outside of Europe. "Remus wanted to know if he could count on our support. David agreed, as long as I could come here. Remus was intrigued and contacted Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts school. And he accepted. It was probably the best day of my life, being told I could come here. But I was scared. I still am, truth be told. If I told them I am a werewolf, what would they do ? There are a couple, and one in particular, who I could tell, but I'm still not sure."

She let out a large sigh. Tears still fell from her face, and Harry moved his head closer and gently licked them. Well, as gently as a full-grown griffin could. She backed up a bit, surprised, before letting off a small laugh and putting an arm around Harrys neck. "Maybe I will, maybe I will …" They stayed like that, not moving, for about a minute. Then a ray of moonlight came down through the trees. Harry averted his eyes as Sarah lost the cloak and transformed. She didn't scream, and neither did Remus, but Harry could hear her teeth grind as the transformation took place, bones breaking and reforming and organs displacing. A minute later, Harry heard a small growl behind him. Turning, he saw a large wolf, or wolfess (AN : is that the proper term for a female wolf ? Please answer …). She had grey fur flecked with brown, and a patch of white hair on the left of her neck, where her scars would be. Harry walked out frow behind the bushes and she followed. Remus and Sirius were in the center of the clearing, waiting. As they came out, Sirius let out a long canine howl, followed by Remus and Sarah. Harry gave a small roar, and soon the clearing was empty, and the sound of paws running away could be heard through the crisp clear air of the forest …

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They got back at the clearing at around 6 o' clock, although they didn't know exactly when. No one had watches, after all. Harry and Sarah waited behind the bushes where Sarah had hidden her clothes, while Remus and Sirius behind the other bushes on the other side of the clearing. Soon enough, Sarah underwent the opposite transformation. Slowly and painfully, she got dressed. She tried walking, but could barely manage. Harry nudged her, and she managed to pull herself on his back. Harry grabbed the bag in his mouth and walked back, where Remus was being supported by Sirius, but seemed to having an easier time than Sarah. They walked back to the edge of the forbidden forest in silence, where they would meet with madame Pomfrey who would take care of them. Sarah, needless to say, would be spending the morning recuperating with Remus in the hospital wing.

They arrived at the edge of the forest. Madame Pomfrey was there, wearing a warm cloak around her shoulders.

"Ah, you've arrived." She quickly conjured up 2 stretchers, helping Remus and then Sarah onto one. Sirius followed her in dogs form as she made her way back towards the castle. Harry watched them go, staying on the edge of the forest. Once they were completely out of sight, Harry changed back into his human form. He quickly made his way towards the castle, and managed to get to the Gryffindor commonroom without meeting anyone. He yawned a huge yawn as he silently got out of his school robes that he had been wearing since yesterday. He would have enough time for less than a couple of hours of sleep before breakfast, then shopping in Diagon Alley. He crawled into bed and was soon fast asleep.

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"Harry, get up !"

Harry opened his eyes, and was vaguely aware of everything moving abruptly up and down. Opening his eyes slightly and squinting, he saw a pair of feet move up and down about one meter from his head.

"Come _on_, Harry. You're going to be late if you stay in bed any longer."

Harry was now awake enough to recognize the voice of his best friend Ron. Just barely, though, and the constant moving motion he was doing didn't help his thinking any. He waited till Rons feet landed before sleepily swiping them and their next ascent. Ron went horizontal … and fell across Harrys' legs with a yelp.

"Shove off, Ron, I'm tired." He got ready to snuggle back to sleep but felt someone remove the sheet. "Urgh, all right."

"'Bout time, too," Ron said, before moving to the side.

Harry slowly got up and got dressed. He wore normal trousers and t-shirt under his wizarding robes, and Doc Marten-style boots. Putting his wand in his pocket, he slowly made his way to the common room.

"Hey mate, you don't have your books and stuff," Ron said.

"Don't need 'em yet, Ron," Harry managed to say through a yawn as they slowly walked down the stairs. "I'm going to Diagon Alley with Dumbledore and the other Varorians to get supplies and stuff. Anything you want or need ?"

"No thanks, mate, not just yet anyway. And nothing that can't wait till the next visit to Hogsmead, although I won't refuse a couple of bags of Bott's Every-Flavoured Beans. Don't ask Hermione if she needs anything, she'll ask you to buy every book in 'Flourish and Blotts'." Hary was silently thankful that he didn't question him of his sleepyness.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'll ask anyway."

They arrived at the bottom of the steps. Hermione was waiting for them, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the fire, her school bag at her feet. She was looking into the flames of the fire, probably daydreaming. They walked over.

"Hey, Hermione," Ron said.

Hermione jumped slightly, surprised, and turned her head. "Oh, hi. I was daydreaming." Getting up, she smoothed out her school robes and bent down to pick up her bag. Slinging it onto her shoulder, she looked at the two of them. "Harry, you don't have your school bag."

"No, I'm going to Diagon Alley with Dumbledore. Need anything ?" he asked, as they made their way down to the great hall.

"No thanks. Oh, actually, if you could bring me a box of sugar quills, that would be nice."

"Sure, no problem."

They entered the great hall, where everyone was eating. Harry was happy to notice that finally no one turned their head to specifically look at him as he entered. The three of them made their way towards the Gryffindor table and sat down to eat. Breakfast was an uneventful time. Harry noticed Malfoy giving him the evil eye, or attempting to, every now and then, but Harry just ignored him.

He flapping of wings told him that mail was there. Hedwig brought him a letter. Harry gave her some bacon and let her drink some pumpkin juice from is goblet before she flew off. Opening the letter, Harry saw that it was Dumbledore telling him to go and see him after breakfast to go to Diagon Alley for extra supplies. He supposed all the students that would be joining the Varorians would be getting the same letter.

Once breakfast was over, the students from different years started to leave to get to their respective lessons. Hermione and Ron, along with the rest of the Gryffindor fifth years, got up and left to a double potions session with Snape. Harry stayed put, since he would be going to Diagon Alley. More and more students were leaving, and soon the only students left were the ones Harry knew had been on the list Dumbldeore had given him. Getting up, he made his way towards the head table. Since he was at the far end, he had the longest way to walk. Katie waited for him to reach her before getting up and walking alongside him. They gave each other brief smiles of encouragement and arrived, along with the other students.

"Good morning, I hope everyone slept well," Dumbledore said, looking at everyone, stopping on Harry as he gave a wide yawn, for which Katie nudged him hard in the ribs. He was the only teacher there, since the other teachers had lessons to give. "Now, we will be leaving by portkey, which will have to be activated in Hogsmead due do extra wards having been placed on Hogwarts. You may go to get a cloak if you feel cold. Meet me before the main entrance in twenty minutes.

Turning to Katie, he said, "I'm getting my cloak. Do you need yours ?"

"Yeah I have to get my money pouch aswell, I forgot it in my room." With that, they left the great hall and made their way up to the Gryffindor tower to get their stuff, making small talk along the way. Katie spoke about her family, before apologizing. Harry assured her it was okay, that he didn't mind. Harry got his cloak and slung it around his broad shoulders. Katie got hers and put it on, along with her money which she safely put in her pocket before charmng her pocket closed. They walked back down to the main entrance and talked till everyone arrived.

"Very good. Everyone ready ?" Dumbledore asked Everyone nodded, and they set off, making their way towards Hogsmead. Harry sped up till he was next to Dumbledore.

"Are they okay ?"

Dumbledore cast a small secrecy spell before answering. "They're fine, albeit tired. Sarah was still asleep when I went to check up on them, but madame Pomfrey assured me that she's all right. Remus said 'thank you'."

"When will he be leaving ?"

"Madame Pomfrey wants to keep him there till tomorrow morning. Sarah will be rejoining her lessons this afternoon."

Removing the spell, the continued to talk about mundane matters. Once past the anti-portkey wards, Dumbledore removed a length of string from insode his robes. "Would everyone please touch this, please ?" Everyone moved so as to have at least a finger on the length of rope. Dumbledore tapped it twice with his wand and they felt the tugging behind the navel sensation. A couple of seconds later, they arrived in Diagon Alley. It was much calmer compared to the before school rush, when everyone arrived to get their school supples. Compared to then, it could be considered completely deserted.

"Right. I believe that you are all mature enough to get your supplies by yourself. Here is the list …" he said, giving everyone a piece of parchment "… of things you need to buy, with an estimated price next to it. If you wish to buy something more elaborate, it will be more expensive. Once you have finished, meet in the Leaky Cauldron. You are allowed to use magic to shrink your belongings for your convenience, but please do not abuse the priveledge of using magic outside the school. Now off you go." With that, Dumbledore walked off in the direction of the shops.

"Shall we go together ?" Harry heard someone ask him. Turning around, he saw Katie standing next to him.

"Sure. Let's go. I have to go to Gringotts first." With that, they made their way towards the wizarding bank. After a brief ride down the carts, Harry scooped a large amoung of gold galleons into a pouch before heading back up. Once he was back at the top, he was curious as to how much he had in his account. He went to one of the goblins.

"Excuse me, I would like to know how much I have in my vault."

"Key," the goblin said, holding out his hand. Harry handed the goblin his key and he placed it onto a small scale. 3 dials under the scale went into mouvement before stopping. A piece of parchment came out of a small slot which the goblin took and handed to Harry along with his key.

"568,254 golden galleons, 652,357 silver sickles, 425,897 bronze knuts," Harry said in awe. Even if he had no idea whet the exchange rate was from wizarding money to muggle money, he could still tell that it was a lot of money.

"Wow, Harry. You're rich." The voice of Katie brought him out of his _rêverie_.

"Yeah, it's the money my parents left me for my schooling. I don't want to live from it, though. Do you know about investing it, though ?"

"Harry, you're in a bank. Where's the best place for information about investing."

"Oh yeah, right." Turning back to the goblin, he asked, "Is there someone who could counsel me as to how I could invest my money ?"

The goblin looked at Harry before pressing a button next to him. A few seconds later, another goblin arrived. "Mister Potter here wants to know about investing, Barrock."

The new goblin, Barrock, looked at Harry and Katie. "Please follow me," he said before turning smartly around and heading towards a corridor that stemmed from the main hall and entering one of the offices. He went behind the desk and sat in the chair. "So you wish to inquire about different investing plans ?" Harry gave a nod. "The most common way is by buying shares in a company. When the company does well, so do your shares. Companies who are stable bring you a regular income. If the company declares bancrupcy, you lose everything. Another way is by financing expeditions. The most common are descents into the tombs in Eygpt." Harry had a brief thought for Bill. "If there is nothing in the tomb, you lose. If there's something, you can earn little or a lot, depending on what is in the tomb. There's no guarantee that you'll get back what you invested."

"Which companies are selling shares ? And what about new companies ?"

"Most of the shops along Diagon Alley and in Hogsmead sell shares. You could also finance a new project for a shop." Harry briefly though about the Weasley twins project to get their joke shop running, but would talk about it with them personnally. "Do you know of anyone that is starting a new shop."

The goblin opened one of the draws to his desk. "I have knowledge of 3 different projects. One for weapons and armour, another for rare and exotic items and the third for wizard and muggle beverages of all kinds. All three are the projects of different goblins working in this bank who wish to have something on the side. And here is a list of shops selling shares," he said, giving Harry a roll of parchment. Harry looked it over with Katie, who gave Harry some friendly advice.

"Can I have a brief look at the different projects ?"

The goblin took 3 rolls of parchment. The first talked about the weapons and armour shop. It was a shop that sold all kinds of weapons, from older weapons such as swords and the like, to modern muggle weapons like guns and stuff. It would also have an extensive range of armour. For 100,000 gold galleons, Harry would own 70% of the shop. The second was the rare and exotic items shop project. It would sell a range of enchanted delights from not only Europe, but also Africa and Aisa. Same amount and shop percentage as the first project. The third and final roll spoke about the beverage shop. There was a sample list of drinks it would sell, and Harry could tell instantly it was a large range that could appeal to everyone. The investment was slightly more, 120,000, for the same amount of ownership.

"They all look very interesting."

"Why don't you take all three ?" Katie asked.

"Isn't that a bit much ? It'll seem like showing off."

"I don't think so. Besides, it means that you'll be able to support yourself and let you do something you enjoy. And it's not like your name will be written on the front of the shops, even if you are a majority shareholder."

"I suppose. Thanks for the advice." Turning to Barrock, he said, "I'll finance all three projects, and buy shares in 'Flourish and Blotts' as well as 'Eeyops Owl Emporium'."

"Very well." Taking out 3 rolls of parchment, he gave them to Harry. It was a formal contract. Harry signed all three before pricking his thumb and placing a drop of blood next to his signature, as was asked on the parchment. While he had been doing this, Barrock had been preparing another roll of parchment with the shares he had asked for. Harry repeated the same actions for the shares.

"Now that that is taken care of, you will recieve regular letters concerning the state of the shop, along with your shares."

"Could I have the money gained sent to different accounts, one for each shop ?"

"Certainly." Once that was done, the goblin handed Harry several other keys, one for each shop and one for the shares. Thank goodness they were consecutive. Once they were done, they left the bank. A quick look at their watches showed they still had one and a half hours left.

They looked at their list to see what they had to buy : different potion ingrediants (some of which neither was completely aware were used for), different books (on curses, counter-curses, transfiguration, potions and charms), clothes (training clothes and combat robes), weapons (1 normal sword, dagger, axe, wrist-blades plus 3 different of your choice, none of them enchanted) and armour (gauntlets and shinpads required, breast armour optionnal). Harry and Katie spent some time choosing their weapons before deciding, and made it back to the Leaky Cauldron just in time. Harry bought flexible gauntlets of leather, with articulated metal plates over, and cut off fingers. They also had metal buttons on the knuckles. Katie took completely metal gaultlets, with sharp spikes on the knuckles. Of course, Harry didn't forget to buy the sweets that Ron and Hermione had asked of him.

"Ah, the rest are here," Dumbledore said as they entered the room. They saw that everyone else was indeed there. Everyone had shrunk their stuff, so they didn't have to drag heavy bags around. Harry and Katie had done the same. "Now, does everybody have everything ?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now, your training will include muggle weaponry, but we will be starting with close-combat at first, so another trip will be made for muggle weapons." Harry mused that he could probably supply them through his shop, and made a mental note to talk about it to Dumbledore when the occasion presented itself. Dumbledore removed 12 credit cards from his pocket. At least, they looked like credit cards, were about the same size. However, they were all a dark blue, and didn't have any writing or pictures on them. One by one, Dumbledore asked them to hold one before casting a spell on it. Their picture appeared, along with different information. He explained that it was their Varorian cards. No one was apointed head-varorian or deputy yet.

Finally, he removed the same length of rope that had brought them all to Diagon Alley. Indicating for everyone to touch it, they complied, and Dumbledore tapped it twice with his wand, bringing them back to Hogsmead, where they walked back to Hogwarts.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"So how was it ?" Ron asked as he entered the common room, where Harry was talking with Katie in front of the fire. They had been discussing the diffent aspects of training they were looking forward to, and which they didn't want to do. Unsurprisingly, neither was looking forward to potions.

"It was fine. Here," he said throwing the bags of sweets to Ron, who caught them easily. Hermione was following, and caught the sugar quills that Harry lobbed at her.

"What books did you buy ?" she asked. Harry rolled his eyes, but answered anyway. "You can look on my bed, that's where I put them. Don't touch the other stuff, though."

"What are you wearing ?" Ron asked, noticing Harrys arms. He was already wearing the gauntlets. The varorians were allowed, and ever encouraged, to wear at least some armour and a weapon with them at all times, as soon as they started training. Since Harry had already had some training during his holidays, he felt comfortable enough to already wear the gauntlets, but thought wearing a weapon would be pushing it before the prefects were warned about them.

"My gauntlets, they were on the list that Dumbledore gave us. Mine are relatively nice, compared to Katies, which are vicious." Katie swatted him on the arm, taking care to avoid his gauntlets, while Harry laughed. "Hey, I just thought. Since we're varorians, prefects can't remove house points from us, right ?" Katie nodded. Turning to Hermione and Ron, he asked, "have you been told about the varorians yet ?"

"No, although there's a prefects meeting tonight. It'll probably be mentionned then. I think the head boy and girl know, though."

Harrys' face broke out into a wicked smile. "It's time for lunch, isn't it ?"

"You bet," Ron said, patting his stomach.

"Let's go, them. Hopefuly, we'll run into Malfoy."

"Huh ? Why ?" Ron asked.

"You'll see," Harry said. "See you later, Katie." She waved him off before moving over to her friends.

Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way towards the great hall. There weren't many students yet, since classes had just recently finished. Malfoy was there, however. He sneered at Harry, who went and sat down in a seat where he could watch him. He noticed Malfoy looking at him, and was careful to flash his gauntlets every so often. Malfoy noticed, and an evil sneer crossed his lips. He got up and went over to him, followed by Crabbe and Goyle who had no idea what Malfoy was up to.

"So, Potter, think you're above the rules ?" he sneered as he approached.

Harry just arched an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean ?"

Draco leaned over and tapped the gauntlets Harry was wearing. "This is what I'm talking about. Dangerous things, they are. 10 points from Gryffndor." Hermione and Ron were about to remark, but Harry just looked over to the hourglasses which showed the house points. Needless to say, they didn't move.

"Funny, that didn't change a thing."

Draco looked over, as did Hermione and Ron.

"10 points from Gryffindor," Draco repeated. Again nothing happened.

"How about I try, Draco ?" Harry said. "5 points from Slytherin, for attempting to abuse prefect position without informing himself beforehand." Immediately, 5 points were removed from Slytherin. Draco gaped. "See Draco, you're no longer in a position to remove house points from me. If you had bothered to ask, you would learn that I have the authorization to wear these," he said, indicating his gauntlets. "Now go away, before I do more than remove points."

Draco was fuming. He stormed off back to the Slytherin table.

"Mate, that was brilliant," Ron said in awe, still looking at the hourglasses.

"Wasn't that a bit unfair, making him do that ?" Hermione asked, ignoring Rons' use of foul language for once. Ron was about to answer so Harry quickly interrupted before Ron could do any damage.

"Not any more than him trying to get me alone to remove points from me. Plus, he could have asked why I have them on before removing points, and I wanted to teach him a lesson."

"I suppose …"

"Lighten up, Hermione," Ron said.

"Easier said than done, Ron," Hermione shot back.

Harry noticed Sarah coming into the great hall at that moment. He left Ron and Hermione to themselves while he followed her arrival. She looked a bit tired still, but better. And she was smiling. She arrived next to where Harry was.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello Sarah. How are you ?" Harry asked.

"I'm okay. A bit tired," she said as she sat down next to Harry. Ron, on his other side, was still having a slightly heated discussion with Hermione, and Harry hoped it would finish before it could escalate into a large-scale argument. "Are they always like this ?"

"Pretty much."

"Oh Harry, before I forget, I'll give you my notes for the lessons you missed, as well as the assignments," Hermione broke off. Apparently, she had won the discussion, since Ron wasn't talking anymore, and didn't seem interested in talking at all, since he was sulkingly looking at his food. "You too, Sarah. Why did you miss lessons this morning ?"

"I didn't feel too well after going to see the headmaster, so I went to the hospital wing. Stayed the night and the morning there ?"

"Good thing we only missed double potions, then," Harry said. Ron had also had double Divination, but since neither Hermione, Sarah or himself had the subject, it was okay.

"Could you help me for Potions after Transfiguration, Hermione ?" Hermione nodded. "Want to join us, Sarah ?" he asked.

"Sure, thanks," she answered. She was still shy.

"And tonight, I have to tutor for DADA," Harry said. A lot of people had joined the course.

"Do you know what you're going to do ?" Hermione asked.

"Yup. I'm just going to review some curses and their counters, maybe teach 'stupefy' and 'impedimenta' curses, since they were pretty useful end of last year. We haven't seen enough so far for me to review what we've seen."

She nodded. "By the way, did you manage to do something with the pure magic thing we had to do ? I didn't get much farther at all."

'_Drat_' Harry thought He had hoped they would forget. "I'll show you later, okay ?"

"But …"

"Please, Hermione, later. Okay ?"

Hermione sighed. "Okay, but you better not forget."

"Same to you," Harry said.

With that, they got up and left to go to Transfiguration.

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It was about ten minutes past ten o' clock. Harry was lounging in the common room, having just returned from his tutoring session. He had gotten the notes from Hermione, and saw that he had already done not only the potion that they had seen during the session, but also the potion that was for the assignment. Thank goodness for the extra tutoring he had recieved from Sirius on potions. And at least it had been pleasant.

After that, Hermione had badgered him to show her about his concentrating pure magic. He, Ron and Hermione had gone to the boys dorms, where Harry showed them what he could do. It was like the first time, but Harry noticed that the light was slightly red and golden as he concentrated it on the fingers of his right hand. They were both slightly in awe, but Harry supposed that it was because both griffins and dragons were such magical creatures. In any case, he was going to train doing it more. 

After dinner, he had given his extra tutoring lessons. He had kept it slightly shorter, since it was the first lesson and they hadn't done all that much yet during that years lessons, but had only recently come back. And the lack of sleep from last night was starting to get to him.

"Harry ?"

Turning to the bottom of the stairs, he saw Sarah. She was still wearing her school robes, and hadn't changed into her pyjamas, or whatever she wore to go to bed.

"'Lo, Sarah."

"Why are you still up ?"

"Just came back from tutoring. You ?"

"Couldn't sleep. Actually, I … I wanted to talk to you ?"

"Here ? Or somewhere more private ?"

"More private, please …"

"Sure." Harry banished his bag to his dorm, and stepped towards the portrait entrance. Opening it, he stepped outside, followed by Sarah. He walked to a nearby unused classroom. Entering, he magically locked the door and placed a soundproof charm on the room, puttng a lot of power behing it so that a powerful evesdropping charm would have to be used, but he doubted any fifth or sixth year could get through. Heck, some of the teachers would have a hard time. He transfigured 2 chairs into comfy chairs and placed them opposite each other. Sitting down in one, he indicated Sarah to do the same.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about ?"

Sarah at down, hands clasped together. She didn't look up, but instead looked down. Harry didn't prompt her.

"I …" She paused, and started to fidget with her fingers.

Harry leant forwards and gently took her hands in his large hands. She jumped slightly and looked up, straight into Harrys' eyes. "Talk to me, let me help you," although he already knew what she would say.

Tears started to fall out of her eyes, and she threw herself onto Harry, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head onto his chest, and she started to sob. Harry wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back, rocking backwards and forwards. They stayed like this for several minutes, the time for Sarah to calm down.

"Feeling better ?" he asked. She nodded, and moved back onto her seat, eyes still red. "You want to try again ? Or would you rather try another time ?"

"No, I … I have to do this now. The sooner, the better." She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "I asked an … acquaintance … advice on who I could tell. And your name came up." Looking Harry straight in the eyes, she said, "I'm a werewolf."

Harry didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I suppose the acquaintance is Remus." She nodded. "Sarah, I will be totally honest with you." Her look became slightly frightened. "I knew from the first day that you were a werewolf."

Now, she was completely surprised and shocked. "But, but .. how ?"

"Thanks to one of my ancestors, I have heightened senses. You have the same smell as Remus, a wolfish smell. Plus a couple of details that brought me to that conclusion."

Sarah was slightly flabbergasted. "You knew. All along, you knew. Why didn't you say anything ?"

"It would have done less good than bad if I confronted you about it soon after meeting you. You were out with Remus and Sirius yesterday, weren't you ?" She nodded. "Do you know why Sirius decided to become an animagus ?"

"No." She did know, since Remus had already told her, but she wanted Harrys' view of things. You can tell how someone feels about something by their description of it, which is what she wanted.

"Remus had 3 best friends. They thought that Remus would like company during his transformations, but couldn't do so in human shape. But since a werewolf in wolfs form is dangerous to humans and not animals, they figured it would be safe to accompany him in animals form, as an animagus. My father was a stag, Sirius a large dog and a third a useless rat." His voice became hard at mentionning Pettigrew, even if he didn't do so by name, but Sarah decided not to mention it, wanting to hear the rest of the story. "It worked better than they hoped. Being accompanied helped Remus to keep most of his mind during transformations, although it didn't do anything for the pain."

"Yes. Yesterday, there was Remus, Sirius, a griffin names Harry and myself. The transformation was less painful thanks to the potion, and I was mostly myself. When I'm with my pack, it doesn't really help since we're all werewolves."

"So the griffins presence helped ?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"So you would let him accompany you each time ?"

"Well, yes. Why do you ask ?"

Harry didn't answer, but got up and stepped to a small space where there were no chairs or desks. Sarah was looking questionningly at him. A fraction of a second later, where Harry stood was a large golden griffin. Sarahs eyes widened in shock, and her jaw slacked slightly. Harry changed back.

"It was you." It wasn't a question, but Harry answered anyway.

"Yes, it was."

"You're an animagus ?"

"No. It's a natural form. You could say I'm part griffin."

"Woah."

"Sarah, will you let me help you ?" Harry asked, sitting down once again opposite her.

Sarah looked straight into his eyes "Why ? Why do you want to ? Why would you want to ?"

Harry let out a big sigh. "I can't honestly answer that in one precise point. I could say that I want to act in the way my father would have, that I want to follow in his footsteps, to act in a way that would make him proud. But honestly, I just want to help. It's in my nature."

Several seconds silence before Sarah said anything. "Thank you."

"For ?"

"For caring. I … I would like it very much if you could accompany me." Harry smiled at her and she smiled back. "But don't tell anybody, please."

"I wouldn't dream of it. Now, let's get back. We both need sleep, since we didn't get much last night."

With that, they got up and went back to the common room and their respective dorms to get a well-deserved nights sleep.

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Authors Note : There, chapter finished. The last scene with Harry and Sarah was not meant as a prelude for a budding romance between the two of them. Any pairings will be considered more later on in the story, not this early. I'm still keeping my options open. And if anyone finds that Sarah is too emotional, remember that she just came out of a werewolf transformation. R&R.


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